Frenemy
by Good Ol' Fashion Cola
Summary: Nikita, Alex, Michael and Birkoff find an old friend guarding one of the black boxes. But when old emotions resurface, things get even more complicated than they already are. She is your friend but also your enemy. Birkhoff/OC, Michael/Nikita, Alex/Sean.
1. Chapter 1

Hope you will enjoy. English isn't my mother tongue so feedback will be highly appreciated. And I apologize beforehand for any vocabulary/grammar mistakes I make.

**Summary: **

Nikita, Alex, Michael and Birkoff find an old friend guarding one of the black boxes. And when old emotions resurface, things get even more complicated than they already are. Birkoff/OC, Michael/Nikita, Alex/Sean. (Lemons in later chapters)

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

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><p>Gazing at his computer screen the dark blue-eyed computer genius stretched his arms above his head and gasped doing so. He was a little more sore than he thought.<p>

Rubbing his hand over his muscles he tried to relieve some of the stress out of them.  
>Maybe he should lay off the energy drinks for a while and get some exercise.<p>

Taking off his glasses he rubbed the bridge of his nose, moaning softly.

He was tired of working nonstop for the past few days. He hadn't been out of the house for all these days. Making him suddenly feel stupid for buying this luxury beach house.

While Nikita and Michael were chilling around the house, reclaiming their strength for the upcoming Division, Gogol or whatever other secret killing organization threat, he was doing all the behind the scenes work.

Making sure Shadow-bot was up and running smoothly, always checking if they weren't spotted, securely locking off any signal and jamming the hell out of this place. And even stupid things like having an emergency regenerator backing him up if the power would be turned off.

Seymour Birkhoff always made sure everyone was safe and out of sight. Though he had a feeling he was more impressed with himself then the rest of the rescue team. He felt like he didn't get the respect from the others like he deserved.

He crossed his arms and frowned.  
>Yes even the nerd with enough lack of sleep could get a little grouchy.<p>

Now you must be thinking. Why is my favorite hacker a bit of a bitch today?  
>Well because Nikita had set him up on finding Owen. What the hell she wanted from that schmuck was beyond him.<p>

Well okay he did know, black boxes and important stuff, but frankly he didn't like the guy. Last time he let him into his old house the douche bag was eating potato chips that weren't rightfully his. And then he started to intimidate him by stating that he was kind of small and that he would dissolve quickly.

See, no fun memories.

And now he was trying to track that buffoon down, using all of his hacking skills but still no luck yet. It irritated the cocky Shadow walker to insanity. He was working non-stop for the last three days, because he claimed that he, with his intelligence would find that stupid cleaner within no time.  
>Now he had to live up to that statement.<p>

But first he needed a break. Spinning his office chair around ready to lift himself out of it he heard the front door being opened.

Breathing heavily Nikita barged in back from her daily run.

Checking her time on the watch she was wearing, she opened up the refrigerator door and took a cold bottle of water out of it. Taking a big gulp she was just in time to see Birkhoff attempting to leave his black office chair.

She chuckled at the sight.

He looked like he was 95 years old doing so. After a few groans of pain and a goddamnit he finally succeeded his mission. Putting her water bottle down she started stretching her muscles still eying Birkhoff with humor.

"Do you need any help over there?" she teased him, stretching her other leg.

He had changed his mind about that working out part, another Redbull would make him feel so much better right now.

"Zip it wonder woman. I'm just a little sore from being stuck in this chair all day." He walked over to her while pretending he was just feeling dandy and grabbed a Red bull from the kitchen sink. It was the last one out of the box.

He opened the can and took a big gulp while Nikita scrunched her nose "That stuff smells like you just blew up a candy store," she walked over to the refrigerator to put her bottle back when she noticed the empty Redbull box.

Her eyes widened "You finished that whole box already!?" disbelief was written all over her face now as Birkoff was trying to look innocent

"I got that twenty-five pack for you two days ago!" she frowned "that's it I'm cutting you off on that stuff!" she huffed planting her hands on her hips, looking sharply at the nervous looking geek.

He almost choked on that second sip "What?! You can't do that!" he stared at her in shock and he panicked "Michael drinks that stuff too you know!" he lied looking at the ground and back up to her.

Nikita folded her arms and gave him the look, a look that said it all and no words were needed anymore. Game over.

"Okay so whatever I'm addicted to energy drinks!" he snapped emphasizing the word energy drinks by holding up his Redbull in front of her nose "You win! Now go upstairs to your little boy wonder and leave me and my addiction alone." He scowled and turned his back to her.

Nikita's face softened and walked over to him. He must be really tired from working so hard the last couple of days. Normally he could take her teasing anytime.

Sometimes that computer geek was too cute for his own good. She could never be mad at him, he was like a stubborn puppy.

Lifting his sulking head up with her slender finger, he looked up at her with an expression of a little kid who just got caught with his hand in the forbidden cookie jar.

You see, too cute to stay mad at.

She smiled at him and patted his belly "I'm only trying to help you Seymour." She said in a way that sounded way to sweet in his ears.

He looked at his stomach and then back at Nikita who was already walking up the stairs, a coy smile plastered on her pretty face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" he asked frowning at her disappearing form.  
>This woman was playing one of her psychological war games with him, and he didn't like it at all.<br>_Let Michael deal with that stuff not me!  
><em>"You're becoming the next Amanda you know!" He shouted in a childish way after she was gone.

Angrily he took another swing of his Redbull still frowning deeply "I can eat and drink whatever the hell I want." he mumbled to nobody while he opened one of the cabinets, taking out a package of Twizzlers.

He opened the package with much more force than was needed and started chewing on the poor strawberry Twizzler like it had to die, now.

Chewing more forcefully he cursed Nikita in his head. He already was irritated and moody from the lack of sleep, and now that woman had to enter his living space telling him in a sneaky way that he was getting fat.

And so denying him the only thing that kept him going, his beloved energy beverage.

_ Right, go ahead and pick on the nerd!_  
>Sulking he snatched another scared looking Twizzler and stomped over to his computer again, he'd show her that he wasn't out of shape. This nerd would find his target and then he would brag about it until they wished they were back at Division being tortured by Amanda.<p>

Reclaiming his glasses he shoved them back to their original place and started typing away furiously.

The remaining Twizzler on his desk wishing Amanda was here instead of the furious typing tech-nerd.

* * *

><p>Nikita entered her designer furnished bedroom and started taking off her sporting cloths, readying herself for a well deserved hot shower.<br>About to take off her sports bra she stopped and smiled when she heard a frustrated yell coming from the kitchen "You're becoming the next Amanda you know!"  
>She could already see the look on his face now. Chuckling she undid her ponytail and shook her hair loose, she missed making fun of her nerd.<p>

She was glad that he was back working with her, this time on the right side.  
>Birkhoff was like the witty brother she never had. Someone to have an exciting verbal spar with, but who you love neither the less. Even though Division sucked the life out of anything, even cement walls surrounding her, there was always one person inside Division that she could count on for a quick laugh or a witty comeback. He made the hell hole a little more tolerable hell hole.<p>

"What did you say to him now…?" a deep monotone voice asked.

Her head turned around to see her favorite ex-Division boss in the doorway. She gave him another one of her coy smiles while his eyes roamed over her almost naked body.

"Oh nothing he won't survive," she took off her bra "care to join me for a shower?"  
>Not waiting for an answer she strolled into the bathroom tracing Michael behind her who already had lost half of his clothing in those few seconds she entered the bathroom. That was a question the Asian beauty didn't have to ask him twice.<p>

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><p>Cleaning his gun Michael looked at it lovingly, rubbing the cloth over his old trustworthy companion.<p>

Smiling he reloaded the Beretta 92A1, treasuring every sound it made.

Putting it back into its holder he almost dropped it to the floor when he suddenly heard a loud "OH HELLS YEAH" coming from the kitchen. Frowning he turned his head to the open kitchen and saw Birkhoff walking over to him, smirking cockily.

"Tell me who is the best!" his hacker friend shouted "Say it, say Shadow walker did it again!" he pressed on while bouncing up and down a bit.

Michael only raised one eyebrow, still looking at the boisterous computer technician unimpressed.

"What Mikey, are you so dumbfounded by my superior intelligence that you can't speak no more? "

About to open his mouth to retort, Birkhoff cut him off again

"I can understand that, because even if steroid-man did manage to avoid all the camera's, credit-card use, phone calls and other tracking possibilities." He bragged pointing his finger to his own chest "This genius right here, the one and only Shadow walker, did manage to find him."

He pursed his lips looking smugly at Michael.

Blinking his eyes in a bored matter Michael pushed his hands into his pockets and had a blank look on his face. He knew Birkhoff long enough for what was about to happen next.

_Tell me how… _He thought to himself

"You're probably wondering, _how_ did the super genius Shadow walker find that prick?" Birkhoff said tilting a finger to his lips tapping them softly.

"Well I traced him with Shadow-bot, using old news articles from his past." He was pacing around the living room now, head up and proud "and compared the old ones with the new ones, and voila! Steroid head really does only have steroids in his head because he leaves a pattern and Shadow-bot figured his routine out."

Grinning he readjusted his golden rings around his fingers, trying to make it look like it was a easy task.

Michael shook his head but a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'll go get Nikita then." he said grabbing his Beretta from the coffee table and tucking it in the back of his navy pants.

"Just say it!" Birkhoff pressed smirking at the back his good friend.

Michael jogged up the stairs "No." he replied looking back at him.

The cocky brunette pursed his lips and closed his eyes while whispering "Shadow walker did it again."

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><p>It was a dark evening. And nobody saw the small figure of Nikita sneaking through the dark bushes in the garden of the house where Owen should be hiding.<p>

She clicked her earpiece on when she spotted Owen, who was casually watching television in the living room "Michael, I think the coast is clear… he's inside watching television."

There was a short silence on the other side of the line "That sounds a little too laid back to me." Michael stated not trusting the peaceful situation at all.

She had to agree with him "I know," she licked her dry lips and held her gun next to her head, still spying on Owen "what is the plan?" she whispered.

Another silence "Actually I have no idea." He responded.

She rolled her eyes and stood up from behind the bushes and walked over to the front door. Ringing the doorbell. "Wait Nikita!"

Michael rushed to her side and was just in time when Owen opened the front door.  
>He gave them a big smile "Hey guys I wasn't expecting you when I looked through the peep hole!" he absentmindedly scratched the back of his head "Come on in."<p>

Nikita entered with suspicion eying everything closely "Don't worry Nikita I have been very careful with everything, we are safe here." Owen reassured her.

Still not used to this laid back situation the Asian beauty nodded and sat down in one of the big chairs of the living room "I'm glad to see you're okay Owen" Nikita said as Michael sat next to Owen on the couch.

He nodded a thanks "I'm glad to see you two are okay too."

Still he had to ask "How did you find me though? I was extremely careful and I cleaned all the victims thoroughly, leaving no evidence behind."

Michael pursed his lips "Birkhoff found a pattern in your… cleaning ritual. Scanning the local news he traced you to here." Owen inhaled a deep breath and nodded.

"I knew it was that small fry." He chuckled.

"All we had to do was ask around about you and here we are." Nikita finished and finally calmed down a bit. Since she already was a few minutes inside and there were no Division vehicles ramming into the living room.

The big blond guy rubbed his hands together "I know that this looks really laidback but it is the best thing for my cover. I'm ah, blending into the neighborhood." He said.

"You found another guardian?" Michael asked.

Owen nodded again and narrowed his eyebrows a bit "Yeah, she lives nearby, I'm trying to figure out her pattern so I can figure out where she hid that black box of hers."

Standing up from the couch Owen walked over to his bag and retrieved his laptop, he sat down again and patted the space next to him while making eye contact with Nikita.

Nikita complied to the silent gesture and sat down next to Owen as he opened up his laptop and started opening some folders "I already know her name and I also got a picture of her," clicking his mouse a few more times a new file opened scrolling down he clicked on a very small picture Nikita couldn't identify.  
>Waiting a small second the file opened up bringing up a close up on the girls face. The second Nikita looked at the picture her hands flew in front of her mouth and she whimpered a "No…"<p>

Michaels heart starting beating faster and he looked passed Owen, who was getting confused as well, at Nikita "No that can't be," he stated "That's- "

"Stella," Nikita cut him off "They used Stella for this dirty job."

Her hands balled into fists "Percy, you low filthy dog…"

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><p>3 years ago…<p>

Percy readjusted his tie and turned around to look at Amanda. Who was standing there looking gracefully and neat with a stoic expression as always.

"Are you sure this girl is worth all the trouble we went through." Percy sighed sitting down behind his desk. Amanda imitated him by taking a seat across of his desk.

She gently folded one leg over the other and blinked slowly "I have never seen such a clever and young thief as her."

Percy raised an eyebrow at the composed woman in front of him.

"She can climb any building, infiltrate any hide-out with stealth." She continued "If this girl wasn't homeless and had parents with even a little bit of insight she would be the world champignon in gymnastics by now."

Resting his head on his chin the head of Division had to agree with the psychologist "You are right about that, she would be an extreme useful asset to Division." Lifting his head up from his hand he leaned back into his big imposing chair.

On his screen he looked at the picture of young woman called Stella. The description told him that she was extremely flexible and quick. She could sneak into anywhere unnoticed, through the most difficult and inhuman routs. Making her perfect for any sneaking mission, this girl could escape anywhere and disappear into thin air.

"But isn't she too far gone Amanda?" he asked leaning forward looking closely into Amanda's eyes.

Amanda pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows a bit "I know she is suicidal, but we rescued her in time. The only thing is Percy she won't listen to a woman." Her eyes following even the most tiniest moves in Percy's face. "So I was hoping you could take her under your wing, for only this one time."

He narrowed his eyes "Absolutely not Amanda, that is your job. I'm not going to babysit this homeless girl." He commanded in a calm way. "Just cancel her already." He waved his hand in a way of throwing something away.

Amanda folded her hands together, her eyes still monitoring his every move "Hear me out Percy, if you choose to train this girl. I can assure you, she will be the most loyal agent you will ever have."

His face stayed the same but he said nothing, giving Amanda the chance to persuade him further "I know she has some traumatic issues but if a fatherly figure would step in, you can make her do anything for you."

He narrowed his eyes and gentle tapped his fingers on his vintage desk "Will it take up a lot of my time?"

Amanda gave him a small smile "No Percy I don't think so, according to my calculations a few months will be enough." She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows "Just train the girl, talk a little and I will do the rest."

Not entirely sure he should trust the stoic woman and her plans, he reluctantly agreed. "Fine. We start this thing tomorrow morning."  
>Maybe the girl would come in handy some day.<p>

Amanda smiled a coy smile and rose from her seat "I promise you won't regret this Percy."

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><p>Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think. Feedback is highly appreciated.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the feedback and tips I do need them so keep them coming.

Hope you will enjoy chapter two.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

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><p><span>Four years ago…<span>

Michael walked along the long halls of Division and into the operator room. Stepping inside Birkhoff was typing away on his computer along with the other Division IT technicians.  
>Not wanting to waste any time he had to know now "Did you hear anything from Nikita? How did her mission go?"<p>

The computer expert slowly turned his chair around to face Michael, a smirk plastered on his face. "It's always about Nikki with you huh Mikey."

Michael narrowed his eyebrows at the smart mouthed hacker, he didn't like it when people pushed his weak spots.  
><em>Why did I ask Birkhoff again?<em>

Knowing his friend long enough to figure out when to stop his teasing Birkoff stood up from his chair and patted Michael on the back "Don't worry Mikey, when you were on your mission I made sure Nikki was safe," he readjusted his glasses and smiled at his friend "You know Nikki can take care of herself, she is like the female terminator, but better looking… and with a nice ass… and a nice set of t-"

"Ok ok I get your point King-pervert, she is fine!" Michael cut him off raising his hands to Birkhoff in a defensive matter, waving him off of any further information.

The hacker just grinned one of his goofy grins and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his baggy skater jeans, while Michael turned his attention to the recruits training behind him.

From the operation room they could keep an eye on the new recruits, the glass being blinded from one side. Giving Percy the opportunity to spy on the new agents every now and then in his tight schedule.

Curious of what Michael was looking at, Birkhoff turned his eyes to the training room too.

He had to look twice at what he saw "Jeesh Mikey do you see Stella!" one hand pointing at her and his eyes not moving from the bendy girl, who was doing a handstand while her legs were out in a split.

Michael raised one eyebrow and looked at his Division friend who was staring at Stella in awe with his mouth slightly open.

He rolled his eyes "Don't even think about it Birkhoff, I don't want to hear any of your lewd thoughts." Stopping him beforehand "Yes in these past four months Stella has shown a lot of potential. She would make a great stealth agent, perfect for sneaking and infiltration missions."

The computer genius did not blink once as Stella's legs went even further down. That wasn't humanly possible, was it?

"I didn't know she could do _that_?" He asked Michael, still not moving his eyes away from her.

Michael pushed his hands into the pockets of his black trousers while turning his head back to the trainees "If you ever turned your attention away from your computer screen for maybe two seconds sometimes you would."

With complete control and composure she slowly put her feet back on the ground bending her body as she did so and stood up. Her balance was perfect. She had total control over every limb.

Birkhoff swallowed audible and still couldn't believe his eyes. In all these year of working here at Division he had never seen anyone do that. He did know Stella quite a bit, but didn't know she had such… interesting talents. It would be even harder now to keep his mind from thinking lewd thoughts about her.

Around lunch time she would sit with them. She was a good friend of Nikita and wherever Michael was there was Nikita.

She was a cute young lady. Big brown greenish eyes with straight medium length chocolate brown hair stopping right above her collarbone. So yes she was very attractive, just like all of the female agents in Division. But not as tall as Nikita or the others. Her build was slender but curvy and around 5 feet and 4 inches (1.63 cm) tall she was one of the smallest recruits.

Though there was her cup-size… With a full C cup on such a small and tiny girl it was the first thing any man saw when looking at Stella.

Birkhoff knew better than to tease her with it, with lightning speed she would hit you over the head. The hacker had experienced that a few times himself.

He did fancy the small girl quite a bit. But he knew the rules, at Division he could look but he couldn't touch. So he settled for verbal spars and fun conversations with her around lunch time. She was fun to hang around with and easy going.

Stella's attention moved to the elevator when she saw the light next to it turning orange.  
>Grabbing her vest off the ground she walked over to it and waited for the doors to open. The light on the side of the doors changed from orange into green and the doors slid open, revealing Nikita behind them.<p>

Stella smiled at her friend and gave Nikita a hug "I know you have to report immediately but I just had to see you before you do." She explained letting her go.

Michael sighed softly to himself. Glad seeing she wasn't beaten up like last time.

Nikita smiled back and nodded at the slightly younger recruit "You know I would never leave you alone back here with Michael and the nerd." She gave Stella a wink and walked through the training room and into the hallway, ready to see Amanda for debriefing.

"Birkhoff," Percy's voice rang through the operation room and bringing both agents back out of their thoughts.

The hacker cleared his throat "Yes, sir?"

"I need you back in your computer lab to examine this laptop we stole for an important client." His eyes bore into the cyber intruder "And this is like I said, _very_ important so no fooling around, I'll sent you a file about the information we need to obtain from it."

Birkhoff swallowed and nodded a affirmative.

Percy's eyes turned to Michael "Michael you come with me." He commanded and walked out of the operation room.

The two friends shared a look and went back to work.

* * *

><p><span>Back to the now…<span>

After explaining the situation to Owen, Nikita slumped down into one of the big plushy chairs and let out a deep sigh.

"When Percy said to me that he had stationed her somewhere far away, for permanent inside spying, I never thought Stella could be one of the guardians." Michael said while he rubbed his forehead.

Nikita looked at him, sadness written all over her pretty features "I know… And I always thought that it would be best for her, that she would be safe." She shook her head "He always was very secretive over her. Birkhoff tried to track her down one time, but he could never find any information at all."

Returning from the kitchen Owen gave Michael a bottle of beer and a glass of water to Nikita "So do we have to fight her now? Is she the enemy?" he started taking a gulp of his Heineken.

Nikita sighed "I don't know. Maybe we could just find her, explain the situation and try to persuade her to join us…" she mused.

Michael let out a deep breath "If only it were that simple…"

Nikita was silent and stared at the coffee table in front of her, sitting up straight she locked eyes with Michael "Well we do have someone on our side she once cared deeply for…"

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><p><span>Switching back to 3 years and 10 months ago…<span>

Peeping her head through the doorway she smiled at the sight in front of her. She knew that he would be in here.

He looked cute hunched over his keyboard like that, all focused on the screen before him with his lips slightly pursed. She really liked him. He was funny, sweet and he was different than all the other men around here. Ok so he wasn't all buffed up, but she didn't like that anyway. What would a small girl like her do with an enormous guy full of muscles. In fact that thought kind of scared her.  
>No she definitely preferred the size of Birkhoff. He was tall enough for her, and although he was the head computer expert of Division, he still had to train every now and then to keep him in shape and prepared for anything. She knew he hid some pretty shaped up arms underneath that shirt when she once walked in on him, shirtless. Oh the look on his face when he saw her standing there all innocent looking. He couldn't speak to her without blushing for weeks.<p>

Yeah in the seven months she had been here they had grown close together.

Like spending time with him playing video games on his big battered leather couch. She never won though, but it was fun to try. Also seeing him happy and all smug as he rubbed his victory into her face made the days at Division a lot more tolerable. He even fell asleep on her lap one time when Percy was overworking him with shady assignments she never heard anything of. She smiled at that memory. He looked so cute and at peace at that time.

But her face fell.

She was going to miss him… She was going to miss all of them. Nikita, Michael and Birkhoff.

She walked down the few steps of the small stairway which made his head turn to the clicking of heals in his computer lab.

He smiled at how different she looked. The last few months Stella had shown much potential and Percy said she would be an official agent soon. She would be seeing the outside world again.

In that time Amanda had changed her wardrobe from the usual gray recruit sweatpants and shirt, to some more… interesting types of clothing.

He scanned her physique from top to bottom and settled his eyes back on hers. She was wearing a simple white blouse with the first few buttons on top open, giving him a very nice view at her cleavage, that in her case was impossible to miss. Glancing more downward her waist looked so tiny in that black skirt that hugged her delicate frame. It was a simple business outfit but oh so sexy at the same time.

She walked closer to him, her black stilettos clicking as she did, a small smile on her face.

He felt his heart beating faster.

_Damnit keep yourself calm Birkhoff, be smooth in front of the hot chick!_

The nervousness happened a lot around her lately. He didn't like it. His stomach would feel funny and he even was at loss of words sometime. That never occurred to the witty Seymour Birkhoff before. Never ever.

Keeping his composure he tilted his head back a little to look up to her from his chair.

"Hey Stel, you look really hot-" he abruptly cut his sentence off "I-I mean beautiful!" he stammered cursing himself. A small blush appeared on his cheeks.

_Real smooth Birkhoff, way to go!_

Trying to avert his eyes he awkwardly started fiddling with the lid of his Redbull can while looking at it, making a clunking sound every time he let the lid bounce back.

Stella only smiled at his discomfort, she loved the effect she had on him. But as soon as she remembered why she was here her smile turned into a sad one.

When he heard no remark and saw no movement he turned his eyes back on her. But he wasn't prepared for what he was about to face. He came sight to sight with big brownish eyes glistering slightly with unshed tears.

He stood up abruptly "Stella, if it's something I said or did I'm sorry-" but she cut him off before he could finish.

His face was full of worry when she started explaining "No, silly. I'm just here to say goodbye…" her voice was soft and almost trembling as her eyes were still locked on his dark blue ones in front of her. Swallowing she traced his jaw line with her fingers, loving the feel of his beard underneath them. Her eyes traveled over his face, taking in every inch of him. He really was attractive, that cute nose, his brown hair with the few stubborn strands, that would fall in front of his face every now and then. Making him run a hand through his hair forcing the strands back in place. Making him look even more sexy in her eyes as he did so.  
>And those full rosy lips. His mouth was always so kissable, she always wondered how sweet he would taste. With the amount of sugar he daily consumed, he must taste like stirring your tongue in bag full of candies or something, mixed with some strawberry flavor from the Twizzlers.<p>

Searching for confirmation he found the answer in those emotional green brown eyes. She wasn't lying about leaving him.

"For how long?" He closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

_Please say you'll come back to me…_

"I can't promise you anything." She answered honestly, looking guilty.

_Can't promise me anything huh…_ That one sentence changed his mood instantly.

He nodded slowly as he sat back down in his chair behind his computer "Ok, well good luck then." He said in an emotionless voice turning his eyes back on his screen. A stoic look was on his face.

She was shocked and her eyes became even more teary as she shook his arm gently "Seymour don't be like this, you know I can't do anything about it." her voice was raising and a helpless tone rang to it.

He pulled his arm back from her with more aggression than he intended to "I know that Stella! Just what do you want me do to about it? Why are you even here?" he spat back at her. Angry, confused. This was _not_ what he wanted. He was _not_ prepared for this.

"Is this really the way you want to end this Seymour?" she pleaded. _Please just take me in your arms and say no._

There was no response. It was all silence.

She licked her dry lips and sniffled, but she wouldn't cry. She promised herself she wouldn't . Not knowing how to answer his questions she pulled him close and instead of trying to say how she was feeling, she showed him.

Catching him off guard she cupped his chin in her hand and turned his head towards her, pressing her lips onto his in a tight firm kiss. It only lasted for a few seconds and when Birkhoff even knew what was happening he saw her walking out of his computer lab, and out of his life.

He swallowed and licked his lips. What the _hell_ just happened? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why was he feeling all these mixed emotions? Anger, confusion, sadness and even happiness? Was that last one because of that kiss?

He groaned and grabbed his head between his hands while closing his eyes. He would force these feelings away. They were useless anyway. She was gone, and never coming back. Division was right, there is no room for feelings when you work here. They only bring you bad times.

He wanted to run after her, take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. He would rescue her from Division and free her. But he didn't, because he couldn't… He felt useless, he couldn't save her and that made him raging mad.

No he forced his emotions away. Stocked away somewhere deep within him and he threw away the key of it.

Taking a huge gulp from his Redbull he smacked the can down on his desk and cracked his knuckles. He had more important things to do than this.

* * *

><p><span>Back to now again…<span>

Running a hand through his hair Birkhoff checked himself out in the full length mirror of his ridiculously large closet door.

Grinning he was satisfied at what he saw. After Nikita and Michael left for Owen he reclaimed some of his long lost hours of sleep. After that he took a hot shower, trimmed his beard and dressed himself in some fresh clean clothes.

Reapplying his gold watch, gold bracelet and golden rings he was back to himself and good as new. Being a cocky bastard like Birkhoff, showing others that you are rich and successful with expensive jewelry, over the top cars and ridiculously overly priced clothes was normal routine.

He was the infamous Shadow walker after all. Back in the old days, feared by every government instance. Something he would never stop bragging about until he died.

Straightening his designer T-shirt underneath his flannel vest he took one last look at himself.

Being sure he looked more than just good, he jogged down the stairs and started rummaging through his liquor collection. If there weren't any Redbull's left, strong liquor would be the next best option, next to an extreme sugary espresso. Opening a bottle of something that looked like it cost him twelve grand he poured himself a glass.

It was expensive, so the stuff had to be good.

About to take a sip, the alarm on his computer went off. Rolling his eyes he put his glass down and walked over to the computer. It was only Alex. Opening the front door he came eye to eye with Alexandra Udinov.

"Hey Birkoff, sorry I'm late but I was busy being the messenger girl between Percy and Amanda." She explained tiredly. "I did some groceries though on my way over here." She slightly raised the large paper bag clutched between her arms while she smiled at him happily.

He didn't move aside to let her through, his face remained blank "Did you buy any energy drinks?" he asked eying her skeptically.

"Of course!" she chirped.

He beamed at her "Well don't just stand there come inside!" He motioned with his arms to her while stepping aside so she could enter.

"Thanks!" she said unaware of his sudden invitation. She walked in and dumped the bag on the kitchen counter. Sweeping her sleeve across her forehead she let her eyes wander through the living room "Where are Nikita and Michael off to?"

Rummaging through the bag he found the Redbull six-pack "There with Owen right now, if they were able to keep their hands off each other long enough," he ripped one can out of the cardboard package "So it's just you and me here babe." he drawled winking at the Russian beauty while he opened his can of Redbull.

Alex smiled at the computer expert and shook her head. Meanwhile Birkoff already downed half of the can and let out a deep breath "Aahh high levels of sugar, taurine and caffeine. What more can a guy ask for?"

Turning her pretty head around Alex tried to answer that question "A hot girlfriend?"

Grinning wolfishly at her he countered "Why do I need that when I have you?"

She raised her eyebrows en pursed her lips "Because technically you don't have me." She grinned.

He feigned looking hurt "I don't? Well that explains the Redbull addiction for all these years. Funny how that started when I was kidnapped by Division." He said in an over dramatic way "The look but don't touch rule does make a man desperate for _something_."

Giggling she started unpacking the grocery bag "Didn't the girls of Amsterdam cover that problem?"

Narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips he took another sip of his beverage "That was just this one time… Is that going to follow me into my grave now? It will never be good enough to replace the real thing you know." he muttered.

Finished unpacking, Alex neatly folded the paper bag and stuffed it into a drawer, making Birkoff raise his eyebrows at that "What the hell are you going to do with that? Make a batman mask so you can go undercover in Gotham city?" She tried to look annoyed with him but it failed when she couldn't held back her laughter. "Oh Birkhoff please stop, you can't be serious about anything can you?" she said when her laughter subsided.

He gave her a seductive glance "Well I can be serious about some things…" he eyed her up and down smirking.

Alex rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the smile from reappearing on her face. As much as she wanted to deny it, these teasing conversations between her and Birkhoff always cheered her up.

She knew he was just playing around, being his annoying Seymour self. If he even tried thinking about Alex in _that_ way, Nikita would feed him to Amanda, alive.  
>Birkhoff was just, Birkhoff. He loved pissing people off, push their buttons until they explode, being the goofy and funny guy you could always go to if you wanted a verbal spar or a quick laugh. She also knew that deep underneath the joking around, there was a very caring and selfless Birkhoff. Only showing himself in troubled times or when you needed him to. So if something did ever happened to you, he will be there for you. Saving your ass, no matter how many times he claimed he wouldn't.<p>

Alex awoke from her thoughts when she heard a bleep-bleep coming from the computer.

"That must be Michael calling for more condoms," Birkhoff commented lazily, putting his beverage on the kitchen counter and sat down in his black chair.

Opening up the request call Alex had walked over and stood behind him bending over his shoulder. Nikita popped up on the screen "Hey Nerd, Hi Alex," she waved "Everything okay back there?"

The two of them nodded, Alex looking happy and Birkhoff looking bored.

"Good." She hesitated "Birkhoff we kind of have a problem here. And… we need your help."

He pursed his lips and rolled his dark colored eyes "Alright tell me the situation and I'll save your ass." He cracked his knuckles, ready for some hacking action.

The Asian beauty gave him a sympathetic look "Well you see, not that kind of help." She swallowed "We were kind of hoping you could talk to an old friend for us."

He scratched his temple confused "What? Why? Just talk to him yourself."

Nikita sighed giving up on bringing this information into the conversation softly "We found one of the guardians." She started as she swallowed again while Birkhoff was still waiting for a logical explanation for all of this.

"The guardian of the black box is not a he, it's a she…" again there was a short silence between them.

Nikita looked him straight into the eyes.

"It's Stella."

* * *

><p>Right the end of chapter two. Tell me how I did.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews everyone.

And a special thanks HwGenius for all your help and picking out a good title for me. You are right the transitions between the time settings should be more gentle, not so rough. I will do my best. I really appreciate your feedback, thank you for taking your time to do so.

Although I absolutely love writing this keep in mind that I'll never be as good as someone who grew up speaking, reading and writing English. It will not keep me from writing any further, though. I love this language but please don't expect too much from me. Just enjoy the story line and maybe get some inspiration from it on the go. That would mean a lot to me.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

* * *

><p>Walking as fast as she could on her stiletto heels, Stella retreated to her small dorm room. Closing the door with a bang behind her she sat down on her Division bed.<p>

Breathing in and out slowly, she tried to calm herself down, emotions surging through her body.

She removed her heels and closed her eyes letting her bare feet touch the cold cement floor. Why did Birkhoff react that way? Sure she could understand his anger but it was not like it was her idea to become a guardian.

Feeling guilty she stared at her toes. She couldn't even tell him she was picked out by Percy to guard one of his black boxes. A sad chuckle escaped her still swollen lips from the hard kiss. Why would she even bother, he didn't even know what a black box was.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door. Her bowed head turned upward to face whoever was behind it.  
><em>He came after me?<em>

The door opened slightly revealing a worried looking Nikita "Hey," she said softly "Is everything okay shorty?"

Deciding not to voice her disappointment to Nikita she nodded a small yes and motioned for her to come in.

After explaining the whole Birkhoff situation to her good friend, Nikita hugged Stella close.

"I'm so going to miss you. And I _know_ Birkhoff is going to miss you too…" she reassured the short brunette "But we can't contact you at all? Are you sure about that…" the Asian beauty inquisitively asked her.

Stella nodded while she ran a hair through her locks, not liking the lies she had to tell her friend "I'll be stationed nearby a big company where I will be spying for Division as one of the employees for a uncertain time…" she glanced at Nikita "That could be for the rest of my life."

Nodding understandably Nikita narrowed her eyebrows, not quite understanding the motivations behind the decision Percy made. Why would he station a agent with the qualities Stella had for a mission like that? It didn't make any sense.

Inhaling sharply Stella stood up from her small bed "I'll be leaving first thing in the morning so I'm going to say goodbye to Michael as well." She sadly informed.

Nikita nodded and also stood up from the Division bed. Turning to Stella, she gave her a long hug "You be safe now shorty…" she whispered holding her close.  
>She didn't want to lose the only girlfriend she had at this moment, but she had no choice but to say goodbye.<p>

Stella smiled with mixed feelings "I will be, don't worry." Her smile slowly turned into a wicked grin "you just take good care of Michael en the nerd for me," her voice lowered a bit "but make sure to give some extra attention to Michael."

Nikita rolled her eyes but smiled never the less, just a hint of redness covering her cheeks "Don't worry I will." She promised crossing her arms.

Stella bowed her head in thanks and walked into the corridors barefooted. Running off to say her goodbye's to Michael.

Sighing inwardly and arms still crossed in front of her chest Nikita stayed behind in the small Division bedroom.  
><em>Oh nerd, why didn't you just told her how you really felt.<em>

Shaking her head she made her way back to the training grounds were she was having one of her late night work-outs. It was obvious to her that the cocky Birkhoff fancied the short brunette. Small and silent gestures told her that.  
>Like the way he would sometimes order an ice-cream dessert, claiming the kitchen-staff messed up his order, he let her have the ice-cream instead. She would notice the glint in his eyes when he saw her beam at the coconut ice-cream and whipped cream. Recruits weren't allowed any desserts, he did that just for her.<p>

Or it was the way the way his hands lingered on her body just a little longer than necessary, whenever he needed to touch her if one of their verbal spars turned into a physical spar.

Kicking one the dummies in the stomach her thoughts wondered back to Michael. Like always, invading her mind whenever he pleased. What would she do if she lost him? She wouldn't know what do to without him here, she cared deeply for Michael.  
>He always looked after her whenever Division had his doubts about the feisty stubborn Asian woman.<p>

Landing another kick on the side of the black dummy her thoughts were racing.

Michael.

Even his name elicited chemical reactions in her body. Boosting her serotonins.

He was the only one who could do this to her. He was the only one who had such a big influence on her.

The way he raised his eyebrow at her whenever she did something inappropriate, immediately making her feel guilty about the mistakes she made.

At Division she was trained to be prepared for anything, anyone, anywhere. Amanda taught her everything to survive even in the most exorbitant situations.

_But they never trained you to handle someone like him…_

Punching the dummy in the nose, she retreated back to her dorm for some sleep.

Love. It was something not allowed here in Division. But how can you disable such a unstable emotion in a human being?  
>Take Stella and Birkhoff. She knew those two cared more for each other than they're really showing off. And now those caring feelings for one another were turning into angst, hate, and anger.<p>

Knowing the nerd well. He'd probably lock himself up in his computer lab for a while now. Pushing his feelings away with hard work. Making sure his mind is busy with other stuff than Stella…

Getting ready for a restless night, Nikita laid on her back with her hands behind her head. Looking up at the ceiling in her dark room from her bed.

_Stella… Are we ever going to see you again?_

Turning to her side Nikita couldn't help thinking about this whole situation. She already knew that this was going to be one of those nights filled with uncertain questions.  
>Pulling her covers up higher she prepared herself for some mental chaos.<p>

* * *

><p>Alex timidly touched his arm "Birkhoff…" she remotely shook it a little bit.<p>

He wasn't responding.

At the moment Seymour Birkhoff was in complete shock.

The beats of heart increasing rapidly.

Joy. Hate. Anger. Relief. Disbelief. Even hope surged through his body.

He swallowed, hard. Just hearing her name again made emotions resurface in him he didn't even know were there. Emotions that he had locked away forever since that last night he saw her walk out of his life.

Suddenly reality checked back in Birkhoff when Michael entered into the camera next to Nikita. Not listening to what they were saying he interrupted their worried babbling.

He had to know for sure.  
>"How do you know it is her!" he erupted "She was stationed to survey a big company for the rest of her life!"<p>

Nikita bit her lip and Michael let out a small breath "Good to see you're back at earth again," he started "we are sorry Birkhoff. We were shocked too when we found out. You know we still care a lot about her as well."

Not wasting any time Nikita sent him the picture Owen took of her "I'm sending you a photograph of her that Owen took recently." She looked at him apprehensively and she felt sorry for her nerd. He must be feeling so confused right now and here she was pushing him to talk. But she continued anyway "killing his way through some other Division agents and with tips from Gogol, Owen found out that she is holding one of the black boxes."  
>Birkhoff blankly looked at his computer screen. The message that the file had arrived popped up on his desktop. He didn't open it up right away though.<p>

Alex was still standing behind the computer expert and held a steady hand on his shoulder.

This must be that girl Nikita told her about one or two times. She knew the four of them were friends before she was sent away on some Division mission, knowing that she probably would never return again. Nikita never told her anything more about it, saying it was irrelevant, this girl was out of their lives anyway.  
>She did remember Nikita telling only pleasant memories of the girl. And looking at the way Birkhoff was reacting there could be a big possibility there was something more than friendship between those two.<p>

"Owen has not told Gogol about her. So we have a chance to talk to her…" Nikita's eyes were glistering slightly "maybe she will help us take down Division. Back in the days we were all good friends. She'll listen to us." She tried to reassure the still not himself Shadow walker.

"And I know she will defiantly listen to _you_, Birkhoff…" Nikita added softly.

Showing signs of life again Birkhoff nodded slowly and reluctantly while he moved his mouse cursor over to the file Nikita had sent him. Clicking on it twice the file opened up showing him Stella for the first time in a very long time.

Alex felt his shoulders rising up as his breathing became deeper than before. She squeezed his shoulder gently, softly telling him it was okay.

There was Stella. She had matured a bit, but she still looked the same as he remembered her. Big eyes, full lips, cute nose. Even her hair was still the same, a bit longer but the same. There was no doubt, it was her.  
>Brown eyes with flecks of green in them.<br>High cheekbones.  
>Thin brown eyebrows perfectly shaped.<br>Long eyelashes.  
>Smooth skin a bit tanned from the sun.<br>Dimple's that showed whenever she smiled. Making her appear younger than she really was.  
>Stella.<p>

Biting on his bottom lip he inhaled deeply. Taking in her features for a few more seconds, he closed the picture and Nikita was back on his screen with Michael behind her.

He popped one of his elbows on his desk, his other hand reached for the bridge of his nose to rub it gently "If you can locate her now," he said seriousness all over his face "I will talk to her."

Nikita turned her head a bit sideways and frowned "Are you sure you're okay Birkhoff." She searched his eyes for any hesitation "we don't have to make a decision right away."

"No, I'm okay now." He was determined not to screw it up this time. "Let's bring shorty back into the club." He gave her one of his trademark smirks.

Nikita lightened up and gave him a proud smile, she nodded "You 're right nerd. The quicker we get our hands on her the less chance someone else will." In the background Michael gave Owen a thumbs up "Now get your ass here as fast as you can and bring Alex. We might need her help as well."

* * *

><p>After taking her dog out for a walk, a slightly overweight pug called Jimmy, Stella entered her kitchen for a late night snack. Happily wagging its fluffy pigtail, Jimmy followed Stella wherever she went, ready for his late night snack too.<p>

Getting quite lonely from all the traveling around the world without being able to make friends, Stella bought herself a dog. She knew the risks of having to leave him behind if she ever got caught and had to run from flying bullets. But she forced those scenarios away when she saw his big black eyes looking up at her from the city pound in Berlin. He looked so helpless behind those bars, she had to take him with her.

After putting some coconut ice-cream into her bowl Stella grabbed a can of whipped cream out of the fridge and walked over to the couch while shaking the can on the way over there. Sitting down, she squirted some whipped cream on the wooden floor for Jimmy to lick up and then some over her own ice-cream.

Scooping up a spoonful of her favorite food Stella moaned softly as the sweet coconut and cream flavored ice-cream caressed her tongue, melting the second the cold ice-cream hit the heat of her mouth.

Heavenly.

Smiling at the cute gulping noises Jimmy was making licking up the whipped cream she was about to turn on the TV when one of her laptops on the dinner table started bleeping softly.

Frowning she removed the spoon from her mouth and grabbed a gun from under the couch, securing it in the back of her jeans.  
>Typing some things on the laptop a file popped up. There was video footage of a never before seen car in her street.<br>Even if things were calm and peaceful at the moment she was still a guardian. She hadn't heard from Percy for a while now and that did strike her as odd at first, but she stayed loyal until his next command. But just like Percy taught her, especially when things look peaceful be extra prepared. So she had placed some well hidden camera's around her neighborhood that would warn her if any strange cars would appear.

The car itself didn't really worry her, it was why the car was here at this time of hour and why it was stopping around the corner of the house. After looking at it twice the black sporty SUV looked awfully suspicious to her. Suddenly her camera's were all jammed and there was nothing but black on the screen.

"Fuck!" quickly running to her closet she threw on her body warmer over the long sleeve shirt she was wearing and grabbed her emergency backpack. Ready to pick up Jimmy her doorbell rang. Quickly thinking, there were two things she could do. Run away, or full frontal attack. Just answer the front door and hope for the best.  
>Growling a little Jimmy barked quietly, also finding the sound of the doorbell suspicious so late at night.<p>

Breathing heavily she calmed herself down and threw her backpack on one of the chairs nearby. "Coming!" she yelled as normal and casual as she could. Grabbing the gun from the back of her jeans, she opened the door with the other hand and opened it with lightening speed. Grabbing the first person in sight she held him tight with her arm around his neck while her gun was pressed against his head.

Michael was surprised by the supreme speed and tactics of Stella and didn't prepare for this to happen as he was held tightly against her with his back turned to her for protection.  
>"Nikita?" Stella breathed as she finally saw who was in the doorway, but she didn't let go of Michael.<br>_Then this must be….  
><em>Her thoughts were confirmed by Nikita.

"Let Michael go Stella!" Nikita pointed her gun at her long lost friend and looked stern but reluctant as she quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "We are not here to hurt you!" her tone was soft but commanding.

Scared by the whole situation Jimmy made a whimpering sound and hid behind the couch.

Not phased at all Stella held her ground and tightened her grip around Michaels neck, making him groan and cough. Because of her height he was bend into an painful position for both his legs and back, making it not easy to move.  
><em>Percy said not to trust anyone. Not even my long lost friends.<em>

"No, tell me why you are here!" She pushed her gun harder against Michaels temple.

Nikita gulped and narrowed her eyebrows, this girl wasn't kidding she was still very calm and collected "It's a long story Stella but I can explain it all, we have another Guardian on our side!" she also held her gun in place "We are free agents now! We left Division so we can bring it down together with Percy and Amanda!"

Her eyes widened. So they already knew about the guardians, this was not good. But still they could've picked any hobo from the street and say that he was the guardian. She had never seen any of the other guardians so she couldn't take their word for it.  
>And they want to take Percy down! That is never going to happen, she wouldn't let them. She swallowed hard and narrowed her eyebrows further.<br>_I'm sorry old friends but you just turned into my enemies. No one touches Percy._  
>"I only take orders from Percy!" she vowed her voice full of venom now.<p>

Not liking this change in behavior Nikita tried to persuade her further "Percy isn't in charge anymore! Amanda is in control of Division now and she's got Percy locked up somewhere in Division!" Nikita tried to explain to the hardheaded girl "Please, Stella listen to me I'm telling the truth I've got a mole on the inside who can verify this!"

Stella growled lowly and her thoughts were spinning.

_Percy is being held hostage by Amanda? That would explain his lack of contact! That makes sense. Now if Nikita is telling the truth then I must think of the best way to rescue Percy. She did say she had a mole on the inside… That would mean she could use that mole to communicate with Percy someway… This could be my only chance to rescue him._

Not liking the silence Nikita inhaled sharply and saw no other way, she talked to Birkhoff through her earpiece "Birkhoff please come in here I need you."

Stella's grip again tightened around Michaels neck who again groaned in pain and coughed some more "What? Birkhoff? He's working with you too?"  
><em>That, that couldn't be…<em>  
>Her heart raced and emotions were taking over control, saying screw all your Division trainings! We don't want to stay calm, we want to let Michael go and take the Shadow walker into your arms as soon as he comes through that door!<p>

Nikita smiled a sad smile "Yeah, just like old times…" she looked at Michael being held and the grip on her gun tightened. She didn't like this sight of him, but he signaled her with his eyes that he was okay. He must of felt a reaction from the motioning of Birkhoff in Stella.

The door opened slowly. His hands were shaking furiously as Birkhoff popped his head in first. Letting his eyes take in the situation he awkwardly closed the door and acknowledged Stella behind Michael with a gun pressed against his head. Nikita defensively held her gun in the direction of Stella.

He swallowed hard "Stella? I-It's me… Birkhoff." His heart almost thumped out of his chest when her eyes met his. He saw fear, confusion and even a hint of happiness in them if he wasn't mistaking. With reluctant steps he made his way next to Nikita and ran a nervous hand through his hair.  
>Ready to continue he stopped when everybody's eyes turned to the lower grounds when a small pug decided to enter the complicated situation.<p>

"Jimmy!" Stella said worriedly "Come here, now!"

But the pug had other plans, wagging his tail happily he sat down in front of Birkhoff and sniffed his Vans in the process.  
>At first both parties had confused looks on their faces. But Birkhoff's quickly turned into a small smile as he petted the fluffy thing on its head while bending through his knees.<p>

"Hi there Jimmy, please tell your cute owner that we are not here to hurt her." He scratched the pug under its chin. Jimmy didn't complain as he made noises of approval and urged Birkhoff to continue as he half closed his eyes and leaned into the skilled hand.

Glancing up from his kneeling position Birkhoff looked with as much serenity as he could in the eyes of the short female guardian.  
>"Please Stella, listen to Nikki. She's telling the truth," he bit his lip "I'm telling the truth. Please believe me." He begged her.<p>

Stella hesitated.  
><em>God why does he have to look so cute! And look at Jimmy, he likes him… <em>

_Damnit! Think Stella!  
>If we join them we could use them to get in touch with Percy. It would be a million times easier than breaking into Division yourself. Maybe we should think about using them and make sure to sabotage their plans of hurting Percy.<em>

Beep! Beep! Beep! Stella's other laptop started beeping.

_Crap!_

"Nikita do you have any more henchman running about? Tell me quick!" she shouted at Nikita who was looking worried and stood still ready for action "Yes, two but they're still in the car! Why what's going on?"

Inhaling sharply Stella had to make some decisions quickly "I have a sensor in the backyard, that means we have some other visitors that have found us, well most likely have found you!"

Releasing Michael she spun him around and trusted a gun in his hands "I will join you, and we have to work together quick. Make sure you have the car ready in front of the house and I will grab my stuff!"

Tension filled the room and Michael searched her eyes for lies but found none. Still in the hectic of the situation all four stood still and looked at one another a smile slowly reaching all four faces. Nikita's voice was the first to cut through the thick awkward silence. "Okay but be quick Stella, I will secure the road from the front door to the car," her eyes turned to Michael "Michael you make sure to give Stella some back up, you two be safe!"  
>Nodding an affirmative, Stella and Birkhoff were staring into each other's eyes. Grabbing Birkhoff's hand Nikita pulled him up and ran out of the front door pulling the computer expert behind her, his eyes staying on the short girl as long as possible. Barking loudly Jimmy followed them out of the house, wanting more attention from those strong skilled hands underneath his chin.<p>

Turning her eyes back to Michael she jumped behind the wall of the hall and peeped her head around the corner. Her backpack with important stuff was still left on one of her chairs in the living room.  
>Nodding to Michael she sneaked around the corner and slowly entered the room. Looks like the coast was clear… Michael was giving her backup behind the wall, his gun behind her back giving her more reassurance as she walked further. Finally reaching the chair she grabbed her backpack and turned around. Succes! Taking a few steps towards Michael she turned around quickly when she heard him shout "Behind you!" but it was already too late. A Gogol mercenary had shot her in the stomach and Stella fell down on the floor.<br>"Fuck!" Shooting at the direction of the bullet, Michael raced over to Stella and pulled her over the floor back to the hall while shooting. Luckily the girl was light like a feather and easy to pull over the wooden floor. Reaching the safe place he checked her injuries and was relieved to find out that her body warmer also doubled for a bullet proof vest.  
><em>Smart girl.<em>

Removing the body warmer, he pulled her into his arms with her backpack on and ran out of the front door to the car. He opened the back door where Birkhoff was sitting and threw her into his lap. "She was shot hold her!" he shouted and ran to the passenger seat door and rushed inside. Nodding to Nikita she kicked the gas pedal and drove off like a maniac.  
>Bullets flying after them.<p>

"What? She was shot? What happened? Is she okay?" Panicking, Birkhoff searched the girl in his lap for injuries or blood. Her bag thrown over the backseat into the trunk, Jimmy sniffing his masters property happily.

Michael was breathing heavily but explained "She's ok! She had a bullet proof vest protecting her."

Nikita smiled and mumbled a "That's my girl." While maneuvering through the civilian streets of the neighborhood with immense speed.

"She's just unconscious she'll be okay!" he reassured and relief settled over Birkhoff's feature's.

In the trunk of the car Jimmy was happily panting for his breath, and trying to stay balanced but falling over every time when Nikita took a sharp turn.

The back seat was now occupied with Alex in the middle and Owen and Bikhoff on each side of the Russian girl, with Stella secured and safe in Birkhoff's lap.

"Wow you guys got her!" Owen exclaimed "Good job ya'll!"

"I think we lost Gogol." Michael said to Nikita looking in the mirror of the passenger's seat "You can calm down now."

Nikita turned to him sharply "Calm down! How did Gogol find us just now? Maybe we're being tracked as we speak!"

But Birkhoff dismissed that possibility "Not possible." He held Stella close to his body as Nikita drove over another speed bump "My software would have found the tracker, Gogol must have had his own leads towards her."

Owen backed up his thoughts "Small fry here is right Nikita," he pointed at Birkhoff over Alex's lap who scolded at the name small fry "they already had lots of tips and information. It was only a matter of time before they would've found her. Luckily we came just in time."

Michael touched Nikita's thigh with his hand in a soothing matter "Owen got a point there. But we got her in time. She wasn't captured by Gogol and now safe with us. Back in the team."

Alex brushed away a few strands of hair out of Stella's face and looked at her with curiosity "So this is Stella huh?" she smiled at the woman in Birkhoff's lap "She's so cute and small!"

Owen was watching Alex and bended over to check out Stella as well, he smirked wolfishly "Yeah, she's got a nice rack too. Cute little thing indeed."

Letting out a low disapproving growl Birkhoff scowled at the blond man and pulled Stella closer. If she wasn't in his lap right now he would've punched the douche bag right in the face.

Turning her attention to Michael Alex went serious again "When we get back to the beach house I have to get back to Division. Amanda will notice the Gogol situation sooner or later. And maybe would want me to go after them."

Michael rubbed his temple and nodded "How's Stella doing?"

Lifting her up slightly Birkhoff checked "Yeah she is doing fine for someone being shot in the stomach, still unconscious though."  
>Her head was resting in the crook of his neck, arms limply resting in her lap as she was sitting on his lap with her legs crossing his sideways. His arms were wrapped protectively around her as he held her like she was made out of glass.<p>

Alex let out a happy sigh "I'm glad this night is over. I know you thought you would never hear this out of my mouth but I've had shot enough Gogol henchmen for one night." She stretched her arms above her head "They were countering the car with an entire army!"

"I'm just glad everyone is okay. Together we make a great team." Nikita stated and made a left turn, she took the long route, just to be safe.

As the ride home continued Alex and Owen started talking about Gogol, Alex wanting to learn as much as she could about the organization. And Owen happily to oblige, told her everything he knew.

Michael and Nikita started talking about the next steps they were going to make against Division and what to do with another Guardian on their side now. But also being happy that Stella was back, and on their team, knowing Stella was safe here with them and not captured and tortured by Gogol.

Birkhoff himself couldn't be happier right now. Except that Stella was still unconscious, she was here and she was with him. Settled in his arms.

Not the time to be thinking these things he couldn't help himself. But she really did smell delicious. Some sweet fruity perfume lingered in her neck, and he could even smell a hint of coconut in it, mixed with lighter fluid?

He narrowed his eyebrows a little bit. _She must have been taking up smoking again._

Her soft breaths were tickling the back of his neck and he smiled.  
>He couldn't wait for her to wake up. There was so much he wanted to say to her. He never should've ended it the way he did when she left. And looking into her eyes again when he entered the house, made all his anger vanish.<p>

Caring about someone isn't a weakness, it's a strength. He learned that through his deep friendship with Michael and Nikita. When he was tortured by Amanda he knew that Nikita would come for him. He knew that and that was his strength against the big bad bully.  
>But he wished he had that wisdom at that moment when she told him she had to leave. He could be strong for her. He could've left a <em>good<em> impression of himself on her…

Moaning softly into his ear Stella starting stirring a bit in his lap. A chill went through his spine. Looking around, the other didn't notice Stella waking up and were still talking.

The noise of the car was pretty loud because of the old road Nikita had picked out so they couldn't really hear through the noise of the car tires mixed with the talking.

Swallowing he checked how she was doing, still moaning really quietly in his ear, her stirring continued. The friction of her boobs against his chest and the movement of her hips in his lap made him blush a red streak across his cheeks. Her movements and cute noises were causing his body to respond in a inappropriate way.

_Cut it out Seymour this is not the time to be thinking about this!_

But his body did not listen to his warnings, it had other plans. It did not have sex for a very long time and hadn't had a woman in its arms for too many years.

As her quiet moaning continued only for him to hear as her mouth was so close to his ear. He had to think about things that turned him off, quick.

_Amanda with a whip, Amanda with an hammer, Amanda with a needle._

A load moan now and he felt her hands trying to clutch her stomach. Lifting her head from his shoulder he saw her pain-stricken face and immediately Amanda was no longer needed.

A few seconds later she was gone again. Pain too overwhelming for her to comply, her head resting in the crook of his neck.

The ticklish feeling of her breaths on his neck were back again. Making him feel at ease. Reassuring him she was still alive and okay.

Hugging her closer to him in a gentle way he looked out of the car window and saw that they were getting close. Soon they would be home. _All_ of them.

* * *

><p>After they've left Birkhoff to take care of Stella and Jimmy, and showed Owen the guest room. Michael and Nikita were waving Alex off as she returned to her own apartment.<p>

Walking up the stairs Nikita entered the luxury bedroom and let herself fall down on the bed exhaling as she did. Hearing the footsteps of Michael nearby she heard him close the door and walk over to the bed. Bending himself over her laying form he smiled balancing himself on his arms on the bed, one hand at each side of her "It was a rather hectic night wouldn't you say?" he kissed her on the lips gently. God she was beautiful. Her long hear was spread over the bed and her pretty eyes were staring right back up at him.

Smiling back she silently agreed with him by nodding her head "I'm glad Stella is at our side now. I missed her."

Michael lifted himself from the bed, standing up straight he rubbed the back of his neck "You're telling me! My neck is still sore from her iron like grip!" he groaned.

Lifting herself up to a sitting position Nikita chuckled "She's short but she's dangerous." Standing up she started kissing Michael's neck "but I'd like to think that I'm much more dangerous than her…" she said in a low husky voice and continued her kisses to his collarbone.  
>His deep voice purring into her ears sent chills down her spine "You're dangerous on a whole different level…" he said and started taking off her multiple layers of clothing.<p>

After taking off most of her garments he gave her a once over and cupped her chin in his hand, whispering "You're so beautiful… I'm glad I never let you go." Nikita looked into his warm eyes and they gave her a feeling like she belonged here with him. That he was the one she should be with. Forever.

She leaned in and kissed him deeply, loving the feeling of his beard against her smooth skin. Immediately his body reacted to her actions as one of his hands squeezed her firm ass and the other started caressing her back. Moaning into the kiss she deepened it, and took control over his mouth.

Their breaths were turning hot and heavy as kissing and groping continued. More pieces of clothing falling to the floor as they did.

Michaels hand moved from her lower back to her stomach and traveled upward to brush it over one of her breasts. Even when she was still wearing her bra his touch made her body react in the most pleasant way and she arched into his touch moaning softy against his red lips.

Still decent but not planning on being for long Michael started nibbling on her earlobe while he searched for the place where her bra was hooked together. Fiddling with the contraption he almost had it unhooked with only one hand when Nikita suddenly flinched when she heard a girly scream coming from one of the guest rooms.  
>She gently pushed him aside "It's Stella I think she's awake already!" she gave him an apologetic look "I want to check up on her, make sure Birkhoff doesn't do anything stupid."<p>

He sighed and watched her putting on some clothes on quickly "Birkhoff and not doing anything stupid… I guess I have no option but to let you go then." He exclaimed "but I demand a rain check!" he crossed his arms, letting her know he was not happy with her decision in his current state…

She gave him a coy smile "I'll promise, it'll be even better." After giving him a quick but firm kiss she left the room, leaving him behind forcing him to take a very cold shower.  
>Cursing Birkhoff under his breath he walked into the bathroom. Making a mental note to be sure to spoil some of Birkhoff's fun whenever he found a girlfriend.<p>

Stopping in his tracks he suddenly laughed out loud.

_Like that was ever going to happen anytime soon! …_

* * *

><p>Please review and tell me if I am doing ok here.<p>

I do get a little self-conscious sometimes so please let me know if you enjoyed it.

After all the hard work a review makes me want to write even more.

:)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>Strolling through the Division Corridors Amanda was making her way to the operation room. The room which once was stuffed with computers was now filled with a few chairs and her desk, turning it into her own personal office. The clicking of her heels were echoing through Division, making every man and woman avoid walking that way where the sound was coming from.<p>

Entering her office she blinded the windows and sat behind her vintage wooden desk. Picking up her phone she pressed the speed dial button for Gogol and patiently waited for Ari to answer.

"Hello my dear," Tasarov answered "what is it?"

"I don't know Ari, you tell me." Her voice was calm and smooth. She didn't really know if something important was going on but if there was she would find out soon.

He chuckled with his deep voice"Straight to the point as always huh," she heard him shuffle with his phone probably switching the phone into his other hand and heard the car door shut "I don't have much time but I'll keep it short. We were keeping track on one of our… comrades, when we found out something interesting." He said something in Russian to the driver and continued, figuring it would be best not to tell Amanda about his cooperation with Owen right now "Long story short we were about to invade her house to capture her when we found out that there were already some visitors inside."

Amanda's face was still stoic as ever but there was a tiny hint of emotion flashing through her eyes for a millisecond "Let me guess, Nikita."

Tasarov tilted his head sideways "You got it. A lot of my men were killed and couldn't tell the story, so we couldn't identify the people in the car. But we did see Michael carrying the girl unconscious, or dead to the getaway car."

Amanda nodded to herself "Sent me a picture of the so called guardian. Even if it's true she's got one of the black boxes, there is a chance she's still on Percy's side." She stood up from her desk "One loyal to Percy, she'll never tell Nikita where she hid the box."

Tasarov sighed "Okay, I will. I have to go now. Update me whenever something comes up."

"I will." She clicked her phone off and a few seconds later it bleeped again. Flipping it open even Amanda couldn't control her stoic impression as the photo made contact with her eyes.

Stella.

Narrowing her eyebrows and trying to keep her breathing in control she made her way to the man she would love to stick one of her needle's in right now.

Reaching the lower levels of Division, the lights popped on and Percy's head was slightly lifted as he watched Amanda walk down to his cell out of the corner of his eye.  
>She was mad. He could tell.<p>

A small smile reached his face. _This could be interesting. She must have good news for me._

"Hello Amanda what a pleasure to see you here." His tone was mocking her and if it could it pissed her off even further.

She stopped in front of him, the only thing keeping him alive was that thick glass wall. Because she would kill him right now and wouldn't care about the black boxes for one second.

She folded her arms in front of her chest "So, you used Stella as one of the guardians." Even if she was mad she kept herself professional, studying every movement in his feature's, trying to obtain as much information as she could. But Percy's face was flawless when it came to emotion, the only thing that was replaced was that cocky small smile of his.  
>"Even I never thought you could stoop that low Percy. You knew about the mental state of that girl!" She was pacing back and forth now, her eyes still on him like a hawk on its prey.<p>

He just shrugged "I remember you saying that she would come in handy one day." He pushed his hands into the pockets of his white overall. If he could he would burn the thing. He wanted his two piece suit back. "Well you were right about that Amanda." His tone was arrogant, almost making her feel like he was the one in charge here. Even though he was the one locked up behind the glass.

"She was diagnosed with AD. Her adjustment disorder was the heaviest one I had ever seen in my career." Her pacing stopped "Also because of her childhood trauma the complex relation with her father was easy to exploit for you." A short silence was present "You knew you could turn her into a robot, making her do whatever you desired. This girl would kill her way through everyone for you."

Percy looked up "And she will. Division will be mine again very soon Amanda."

Amanda pursed her lips, her perfect eyebrows slightly raising "And how will you do that? You don't even know where she is. Maybe she got captured by us. Maybe by Gogol, maybe by Nikita… She could be dead. You don't know." She said throwing some cocky remarks back in his face.

He narrowed his eyebrows slightly, not liking her tone at all "It doesn't _matter _Amanda. Wherever she is she will find a way out. I taught her _everything_ myself. That includes manipulation." His smirk reappeared "and we all know who is the best in mental manipulation here Amanda..."

Amanda stared back at him unimpressed as Percy continued "And I know she is not dead. She would never die before getting me out of here." He stated full of pride.

"Oh really. And what will her next move be now Percy? If you trained her so well as you claimed wouldn't you already be out of here?" she tried hoping to get some answers out of the man.

"Just wait and see Amanda. I'll be down here enjoying the moment when it comes." Percy's lack of argument said enough. He wasn't going to spill anything.

Stubborn bastard. She knew it was pointless talking to him. He would never give away any information, any information that she could use anyway.

Ready to leave him to himself Amanda was already walking to the elevator when she turned around for one last question "You know, I really thought you had stationed Stella at one of those companies. I always checked your emails and it seemed that she really was there…"

He sat down on his white small bunk "I knew you checked my emails. I let you. You thought you were sneaking behind my back but I knew all that time." He said not looking at her "I never trusted you from the beginning."

Unphased Amanda turned back around and stepped on the elevator.

Watching her form slowly disappear upwards Percy couldn't help but smile to himself.

"Queen in place. Check."

* * *

><p>Nikita rushed into the guest bedroom Stella was in right now. Expecting her to be confused because of her new location she walked into an entirely different scenario.<p>

Birkhoff was walking backwards from the bed Stella was on, clutching his nose and his face was in agony.

Curses where heard through the room and Nikita rolled her eyes.  
><em>Guess that girly scream wasn't Stella's …<em>

The hacker pointed to the short but dangerous girl "Nikki! She punched me in the face! Restrain her to the bed she's crazy!" Birkhoff exclaimed still holding his nose making his voice sound funny and not very threatening at all.

Checking on Stella, Nikita observed that she was doing just fine, anger must have giving her some new hidden powers.

Stella clutched her stomach but she was sitting up straight "You were staring at my breasts when I woke up!" she hissed "If you weren't staring at my cleavage you would've seen it coming!"

Nikita chuckled. It was just like old times…

But _a lot_ has happened in the mean time. And that was an understatement. Guessing it would be best for everyone to get some rest before any deep conversations, Nikita ushered Birkhoff back to his room. And retrieved back to her own, ready to cuddle next to Michael. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and it would be best if she could get some sleep before question hour.

Meanwhile Birkhoff checked his nose for the last time in the mirror. That little thing sure punched him hard after awakening from unconsciousness.  
>Groaning he turned the lights off and walked over to the bed. Installing himself under the covers, he folded his hands and rested them under his head. Staring up at the dark ceiling his eyes were starting to adjust to the dark.<p>

A sigh escaped his lips.  
>He didn't expect her to wake up so soon…<p>

Okay, okay so that didn't give him the right to stare at her breasts but it was just for a short second! Why couldn't she wake up when he was brushing some strands of hair out of her face. Or when he gently laid her on the bed… No, madam had to wake up exactly at that one short moment he wasn't thinking with his brain.

His face softened in the dark.

She still looked as beautiful as she always did though… It was weird having her around him again.

Groaning he retrieved his laptop and started working on something. If he didn't he would probably be wondering all night what Stella thought about him.  
>Distraction, that is what he needed right now.<p>

* * *

><p>After a not so good night of sleep, Stella rose from her bed. Her stomach still hurt like hell but she was used to more severe pain than this. Moving around would probably be better than sitting still all day. Peeping her head around the corner of her bedroom Stella started exploring the unknown house. Amazed at the beach mansion she ended in the kitchen. Glancing at the clock she read the time softly to herself out loud "Six thirty in the morning. No wonder nobody is up yet."<p>

She heard whining coming from the kitchen floor… oh wait. Jimmy!  
>Slowly bending her legs she ruffled the pug's chubby little head. Glad to know he was okay she searched through the cabinets. Finding some milk and cornflakes she poured two bowls. On for her and one for Jimmy. Knowing she overfed the small dog she didn't really care at the moment. They just escaped death or worse together, so whatever.<p>

Sitting down at the table she winced. Her stomach area still hurt a lot sometimes. Hopefully that would go away soon enough.

Placing a big spoon full of sugary cornflakes and milk into her mouth she chewed the bits to pieces, making crunching sounds as she did so.

Though she was calm and collected on the outside her mind was doing overtime. Seeing Birkhoff after such a long period made old emotions resurface, much more than she would've liked. He still looked handsome in her eyes. She had thought she was over this Birkhoff crush of hers but apparently she was wrong.  
>There was no time for that though. She had to put her feelings away for now. Percy was her number one concern at this point.<br>But on the other hand, she also observed that _he_ wasn't over her either. His eyes showed her that.

She could use his emotions for her in one way or another. Rescuing Percy would be a lot easier with Birkhoff on her side.

Finishing her bowl of cornflakes she went back upstairs to take a shower.

After that she found some sweat pants she could wear for the time being and a oversized sweater. Putting on her sneakers she went downstairs to take Jimmy out for a walk on the beach.

"Come on boy, let's go for a little walk! I think you'll like the beach a lot!"

Opening the back door of the house she went outside. Taking Jimmy out for a walk always assured her of a peaceful mind when she got back.

When she came back the rest of the crew were already downstairs, also enjoying some breakfast and all eight eyes were staring at her when she entered.

She waved at them meekly. This was going to be a little awkward.

The Shadow walker stopped chewing on his sugary breakfast for a second and gave Stella a once over.  
><em>How can she even look cute in sweatpants and a oversized sweater?<br>That is not fair play… Just keep it cool though._

Birkhoff was the first to interrupt the silence with a relieved sigh "I told you she was taking Jimmy out for a walk." Who was already sitting at his feet wagging its tail. Hoping for some kind of food to fall down from the table.

Slowly taking a seat at the table with the rest of them Stella knew that this was probably the beginning of a long talk. "Yeah sorry I didn't tell you guys. I eh… just needed some time alone to think I guess." She absentmindedly scratched the back of her head "this whole situation is kind of awkward for me."

Michael chuckled "Yeah well you're not the only one…"

Stella gave him an apologetic look "I'm sorry for threatening you Michael. I didn't know who to trust at that point."

Michael waved it off "I understand it's okay. I would've probably done the same in your position."

Not really being connected to Stella in any way, Owen was the first to talk business "Well you are here because you're one of the guardians and you hid a black box somewhere." He spoke while munching on one of his bagels "We are all working together to stop Division. Percy, Amanda or whoever is running that place has got to go down."

Nikita took a sip of her fresh orange juice and frowned at Owen's bluntness. She rather informed Stella about their plans a little more subtle by explaining why they wanted to take Division down in the first place.

Stella nodded.

"I understand. And I will join you."  
><em>Kind of. To rescue Percy that is. I don't want to hurt any of you in the meantime though. <em>

Nikita was kind of taken aback by that statement. Not thinking she would turn around that soon.

"If it wasn't for you I'd already be dead by now. Clearly Division does not care about me at all." She shuffled in her chair and looked at Birkhoff and then back at Nikita "Don't get me wrong I have been thinking about this all morning. But you guys care about me. I want to do the best I can to help you all out."

She smiled a genuine smile "And I missed all of you. I'm really glad to see you're all okay…" the last part was spoken softly with emotion clearly audible in her voice. "I always knew there was a big possibility that I would never see you guys again when I left. I'm sorry I couldn't say anything. Percy ordered me not to tell anyone."

Michael and Nikita exchanged looks with each other "Don't worry Stella we understand." Michael began "It doesn't matter what happened. The only thing that's important is that we're all okay and alive. Working together to stop Division."

Nikita agreed "That's right, we even convinced nerd here to join us." She gave Birkhoff a mocking glance.

Swallowing a mouth full of extreme sugary cornflakes and milk Birkhoff had to show his detest at the nickname "This _nerd_ already saved your life twice! You better watch out what you say or next time the _nerd_ won't be so free to help you out on another one of your suicide missions!" he spat back giving Nikita a murderous look.

Nikita just grinned at him and ignored his outburst "How's your stomach Stella?"

The small girl blinked realization creeping up on her "Oh eh, fine! It's not as bad as it looks. It's going to leave a nice blue spot on my stomach but nothing I can't handle." She answered and smiled.

Some things will never change.

After exchanging some more stories with each other, cathing up on the most important missed events, a couple of days went by quickly. Stella was recovering fast and the old friendship between the four was just like the old days.

She promised to take them to the black box soon. Convincing them that it was important for her to recover first, gave her some time to think her plans over. Even if she was sort of using them, she also considered them to be her friends. She would do everything to keep them safe. Somehow she was convinced that she would come up with a good plan to rescue Percy but not hurt any of her friends in the process.

But in the meantime hanging around the house and walking with Jimmy on the beach did her good. It was nice to be surrounded by trustworthy people for a change. Being alone for such a long time made her realize what she was missing.

She even met Alex, the Russian girl. After talking with her quite some time she quickly grew fond of her. Alex was smart, easy going and a lot of fun, she could see why Nikita was so protective of her friend.

The relationship between Michael and Nikita didn't go unnoticed by her either. Thinking about it she always had her suspicions those two would end up together somehow. And it was really cute seeing them together for real.

Okay so maybe it was not the perfect timing and the future was uncertain for both of them but Michael was the steady rock in the relationship. If someone could make Nikita feel good about herself again it would be Michael.

Thinking about everything that happened Stella warmed her feet from the heat of the small fire that she made outside on the beach. It was late in the evening and the sun was almost gone under the horizon, making the sky look all orange and gloomy.

Her mind soon drifted off to him again. Before she went outside to start her little bonfire, she saw Birkhoff working behind his computer in the dim light erupting from his flat screen. He looked focused and was sucking on a Twizzler as he did so. In her eyes it made him look cute and younger than he really was.  
>How one guy could interrupt her thoughts so many times a day was a mystery to her. She never had such strong feelings for anyone but him. And the last few days made her realize that she wasn't over him… at all.<p>

On paper it seemed like such a stupid idea to even think about Birkhoff again in that way, but after seeing him again after such a long time she couldn't deny these feelings she was having. They may not have said goodbye's in the best of terms but there was no denying that there was chemistry between them. If circumstances would be different and she would have a normal kind of life, there was no doubt she would've already jumped him by now.  
>A part of her really wanted that to happen, but another part told her not to. In these times romance was a nuisance and a weakness she could not afford to stop her from her goal of getting Percy out of Amanda's prison.<br>But Birkhoff was being so sweet towards her. Making her feel special and cared for. In these few days he asked her multiple times a day if she was feeling okay. He was worried about her and it was too fucking cute for words. Those big blue-ish eyes of his were even more adorable than Jimmy's sometimes. And he was always walking around with a Twizzler between his teeth. Making her desperately trying not to think about the feeling of Birkhoff's sweet sugary lips wrapping over hers.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice behind her asked casually. She was startled but looked behind her to see Owen standing there eating some potato-chips. Not expecting him at this moment she still smiled and nodded. Silently giving him permission to sit beside her. She liked the guy. He was straight to the point, a little oblivious when it came to compliments but still a good guy that made her laugh.

Letting himself fall down beside her Owen stared into the flames and offered Stella some of his food. Grabbing a few chips out of the bag she mumbled a thanks and started munching on the salty snack. Starting a conversation about something unimportant both of them started talking and laughing with each other, enjoying the light conversation.

Glancing out of the window of the living room Birkhoff was staring at Owen and Stella sitting beside each other close to the bonfire. He clenched his jaw shut, growling softly as a sickening knot tightened in his stomach. He saw Owen take off his vest and put it over Stella's shoulders in a very affectionate way. He couldn't hold back the feeling of jealousy that went surging through his body.

He was desperately wishing for instant transmission so he could trade places with the asshole who was touching Stella at the moment. He didn't like the fact that he was out here while Owen of all people was sitting next to girl he was most fond of… If only he had the courage to actually sit next to her when she started her little fire outside with Jimmy. But no, he was behind his computer doubting over the option to go outside and sit with her or stay here and be safe, not able to make a fool out of himself. Now it was already too late, Owen had beat him to it and now he had to sit and watch him laugh and talk to Stella. Getting to know her better.

Sighing deeply he ran a nervous hand through his hair. There was no point denying it, he still fancied her, he still wanted her, he still craved for her. I mean the last few days hanging out with Stella were wonderful. He and Stella were back to their old routine the moment she woke up. Teasing one another, laughing and talking about all sorts of things. They knew each other inside out.  
>The only thing that they avoided talking about was the last time they saw each other. Both of them felt it was too soon to be starting talking about that, they just reunited after what, four years already? No it was madness to think that Stella would be running into his arms the moment she saw him. He didn't even want to dream about it, because that would make him go mad within the week.<p>

Suddenly his shoulders were tensing. Observing as much as he could he noticed that Owen was wearing a tight white sleeveless shirt that showed all of his well trained muscles. The next thing he knew Owen was lifting up his shirt and grabbing Stella's hand, rubbing it over his stomach. She was smiling at him after that, but he couldn't tell if it was an uncomfortable smile or not.  
>Wait who was he kidding. What girl with a right mind wouldn't like to touch those abs.<p>

Suddenly he was feeling very self conscious. Glancing down at his own torso he placed a hand over it. His features darkened.  
><em>She would never go for a guy like me<em>. Back in Division her options were limited. That must have been the reason why she kind of liked him. Why she gave him a short but firm peck on the lips when she left. Now, back in the real world, she could have any guy she wanted. Glancing back at Stella he decided it would be best to stop torturing himself and go back to work or something.  
>Tomorrow he would start training again with Michael and get back into shape.<p>

* * *

><p>The sun was gone now, a few stars were starting to show themself in the big dark blue skye.<br>Nikita was enjoying the scenery, glancing out of her bedroom window. Spotting Owen and Stella sitting by a small fire. Jimmy was not far away, sniffing on some lost twigs of wood in the sand. A small smile reached her gentle features. She always did have a thing for animals. The only problem was that her lifestyle never allowed her to provide the care and time needed to take care of a dog or cat. With buildings exploding and bullets flying over your head, it was not the best environment to put your pet in.

The typing on the laptop behind her stopped when she turned around to look at Michael, who was sitting on the bed working on something. He looked at the Asian beauty and noticed something was wrong in her demeanor. He gentle closed his laptop and scooted over to sit closer to her "What are you thinking about…" It was a question but it sounded more like a gentle command to tell him what was bothering her.  
>Rubbing the bridge of her nose Nikita shifted her bodyweight to one leg and started to tell her insecurities "This may sound a little harsh but I don't trust Stella 100% yet…" She crossed her arms in front of her "something is off with her but I just don't know what. I don't think she will try to harm us in any way and I would trust her with my life, it is just something else…"<p>

Michael shrugged "That sounds perfectly normal to me. I mean she was, and still is a really good friend of us. She knows us and we know her." He reassured her "Division changes people, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't trust people anymore. We'll just keep an eye on her. And when she does turn against us, it will be four against one."

Nikita nodded and brushed some of her long hair out of her face. Michael always had an answer for anything. Reassuring her everything would be okay. No matter what the situation might be you could trust him to act on the right intuition.  
>Smiling she gently bended over to give him a long lingering kiss on his lips "Thank you" she whispered, her breath ghosting over his face.<p>

Michael only licked his lips and gave her one of his lopsided smiles "Anytime" he whispered back. Enjoying her closeness he rested his forehead against her and closed his eyes. As long as she was here with him, he would make sure she would be fine.

* * *

><p>Fast paces where echoing through the corridors of Division and suddenly came to an halt when Sean finally found who he was looking for.<br>"Alex!" Running up to catch with her he was just in time to keep her from going back to what he guessed would be her apartment again.  
>She smiled at him "Hi Sean what's up?"<p>

He ran a hand through his short dark locks and smiled back "I'm fine. My mother is safe for the moment. How are you doing?"

She tilted her head and rested a hand on his chest "Doing okay… I can't thank you enough for giving me my papa's watch back." She traced her fingers over the glass of the watch "it means a lot to me, thank you."

Giving her a reluctant smile, he once again felt the guilt surging through his body for putting a tracking device into her precious watch. It was totally out of character for him to do such a thing. He really didn't like lying to Alex one bit, but it was for the sake of his mother and also her own protection.

Getting to the point Sean skipped to the important part, the real reason why he stopped her "Percy wants to see you. Alone. He says it is urgent."

Alex raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow and gave Sean a tired look "Not again, I'm tired of playing messenger girl between Percy and Amanda."

Letting out a deep sigh she turned around anyway to reach the deeper levels of Division but not before waving Sean goodbye "Thanks Sean for telling me. I'll see you around!"

He meekly waved back at her and stared at her retrieving form. Narrowing his eyebrows he hoped she would be safe, Alex was one of the few people he trusted down here. Hopefully he made the right choice putting a tracker in the watch…

Reaching the lowest level of Division Alex saw that Percy was ready and waiting for Alex to arrive. He stood right behind the glass looking smug as always.

But she wasn't intimidated by him that fast, stepping off the elevator she took a few paces to look eye to eye to him. Crossing her arms she waited for him to speak.

A smirk slowly reached his features and Percy's eyes glinted "So you have met Stella." He started. He didn't know for sure if Alex actually had, but she was working with Nikita so there was a big opportunity he was right about that.

Alex didn't flinch though "Who is Stella? It's not another Amanda is it."

He pursed his lips hoping for her to bite but it wouldn't stop him nonetheless when she didn't "It doesn't matter to me Alex. Even if you are playing dumb with me it will only work against you. Or did you suddenly quit your quest for avenging your papa." He slowly drawled that last word out, touching a nerve in Alex.

"Give me some information and maybe I'll tell you if I met her yes or no." but she wasn't going to give up that easy.

Again that cocky smirk.

"No no that's okay." He waved it off like he didn't care at all "just tell her if you ever see her that I said hi. And that when I get out of here we'll have some dinner together. Maybe for dessert we could have some special muffins and after that some waffles." He started musing to himself but he knew Alex had heard him.

Blinking her eyes in a bored matter Alex was convinced that Percy was turning crazy down here. "That was so important to talk to me about?" she tilted her head sideways "Muffins and waffles?"  
>Shaking her head she was done with his stupid games, wasting her time.<br>"Stop wasting my time Percy, if you don't give me the information to avenge my father I will find it somewhere else."

Stepping up the elevator she pressed the up button, glaring at the man who was slowly disappearing from her sight.

* * *

><p>The next day Stella was able to do some exercises without any pain avoiding her to continue. Stretching her legs into a sideways split she let out a content sigh. She missed her daily training routine, whenever she would miss any of them it made her feel uncomfortable all day.<p>

Plus doing them outside in the backyard with beach view wasn't exactly an extra punishment either.

The rest of the ex-Division gang was training as well. Michael and Birkhoff were sparring in the living area while Owen was lifting weights in the training room. Nikita and Alex were off running along the beach with Jimmy and she had to chuckle at that, even the dog was being prepared for the worst.

Climbing back up to her feet she pushed her body weight onto her hands and made a handstand. Completely in balance she walked along the wooden planks on her hands her body being in perfect harmony. With one hard push from her arms she lifted herself from the ground and turned her body in the air like a cat to accomplish a perfect landing on her feet. After that she did a couple of back hand springs finally landing into a bridge. Which she started to close up slowly, bending her back even further than humanly possible.

Meanwhile Birkhoff was mildly distracted to say at least with Stella doing her exercises right there in the backyard. In the midst of the living room he had perfect view to her most unusual but nevertheless interesting positions she was showing him off. So whenever Birkhoff's back was to the window Michael had the feeling he was getting some competition, but whenever Birkhoff's eyes could look through the window he was down panting on the floor in no time. Like right now.

The computer genius let out a moan of pain and disappointment when he was thrown down on the mat by Michael once again. Disappointment because the image of Stella was gone instantly the moment he was thrown to the floor.

Sticking his hand out to Birkhoff he gladly accepted it and Michael pulled the computer genius to his feet.  
>"That's 5-0 for me. You're really are getting sloppy Birkhoff." Michael noted, though he knew the real reason behind his victories today.<p>

"Yeah yeah, that's why I am training with you now, ain't I?"

Taking in a fighting stance he was ready for another round, promising himself he would _not_ be distracted by the bendy woman outside this time.

Nikita and Alex were sprinting the last part of their run to the patio were Stella was on. Panting hard, Nikita was the first to arrive and let herself fall down in one of the lounge chairs quickly followed by Alex who mimicked her actions.  
>Between breaths Alex commented on the sprint "I didn't know we were going all the way."<br>Nikita just grinned and glanced up as Stella joined them leaning against Alex's lounge chair. Jimmy was happily making his way over to them with a stick between his teeth. Not tired at all. Guess that those little legs of his weren't out of shape one bit. Brushing some strands of her hair behind her ear Alex turned to the shortest woman of the three "By the way Stella, Percy was talking about you."

Stella didn't expect Alex to start talking about that right now at this moment, but she didn't hold her back either. Now she doesn't have to pull any information out of Alex without raising any suspicion. This was perfect. Glad on the inside, she didn't show any change in her demeanor and gave a chuckle. "Do I even want to know what he said?"

Alex licked her lips and smiled "He wanted to take you out to dinner!" she laughed out loud "he is really starting to lose it down there."

Stella lightened up but hid her excitement with a fake laugh.  
><em>That's code! There are some options what he could have said after that. He could've meant Amsterdam and Brussels. Or Rome and Athena… Or London and Paris… Let's just start with the first one. <em>

Stella shook her head "Let me guess, with special muffins and waffles?"

Alex raised an eyebrow "Yeah, how did you know that?"

_Bingo._

Stella just shrugged "He always said the same thing." She tried to do her best Percy imitation "Stella whenever this job is over we will go to dinner and eat muffins and waffles, I promise."

Alex giggled at the imitation and Nikita let out a chuckle.

Stella rolled her eyes "But I knew his job was never over. He just said it to tease me. Guess he is still trying to get a rise out of me. Even if he is captured by Amanda."

Alex nodded understandably.

Stretching her arms above her head Stella pushed herself off the lounge chair "Well I don't know about you girls but I'm hitting the shower. I'll see you later." She turned around and waved.

The moment she reached her bedroom a hot shower was not the first to do thing on Stella's list. Thinking about the meaning of all this Percy had just activated a mission that would lead to total chaos.

Organizing her thoughts the first thing she had to do was to reclaim her hidden black box, without being seen. But if she wanted this mission to succeed, she was going to need the help of Nikita and the others. There was only one way, she had to sneak behind their backs to set operation plan B in motion. An easy assignment that was going to be trickier being done than said…

Her features turned serious. After being absent for a very long time Percy had activated his back up plan. And she was ready to do whatever it would take for her to make Percy proud.


	5. Chapter 5

Please enjoy.

Chapter 5

* * *

><p>Nikita was bewildered, to say at least. She never ever in her whole life had met someone who consumed so much sugar as Seymour Birkhoff. Her eyes were fixated on him as he fixed himself some French toast with of course, extra butter, extra honey and extra powdered sugar.<p>

Satisfied with himself the computer genius cut himself a piece of the high calorie snack and immediately felt a lot better when the sugar hit his taste buds.

Nikita shook her head "You know Division doesn't have to kill you, you'll do it yourself."

Swallowing about a hundred calories Birkhoff turned to look at the Asian assassin "I need to refuel myself," he pointed at his temple with the fork in his hand "my brain works on that stuff you know."

Nikita raised an amused eyebrow but didn't question the sugar situation any further.

Her head turned to the vibrating phone in her pocket. Reaching it she looked who it was, Ryan.  
>"Ryan! Are you OK?" Her protective nature getting the best of her and immediately she was worried. He only called in emergencies.<p>

Birkhoff's expression turned serious and kept munching on his food, but more quietly so he could overhear the conversation.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry I just called to brief you trough some interesting information that I found."

Nikita only nodded as he kept talking. After a minute or so she hang up with a quick bye.

"Birkhoff, I need you to check this information I'm about to tell you right away. I think Fletcher is on to something."

The hacker cracked his knuckles. Here we go again.

* * *

><p>Putting on some fresh new clothes, Stella looked at herself in the mirror. The clothes borrowed from Alex weren't exactly her taste, but she wasn't complaining. An oversized sweater with a pair of leggings under it kind of suited her. Plus it was extremely comfortable. With a hint of make-up on she went downstairs. Ready to tell them that she would lead them to her black box. At least that wasn't exactly the plan. Somehow she would sent a message from the black box to the other holders before the gang would find out. She could manage that. Easy peasy.<p>

Walking downstairs while putting her hair up in a high ponytail she noticed that everyone was already downstairs and gathered around Birkhoff while he was typing away on his keyboard.

Joining them Michael was the first to speak up to her "Stella, good that you're here. We have a mission coming up and we were just about to call you."

She nodded and her eyes traveled down to look at Birkhoff. Great, now she was distracted.  
>Those few stubborn brands of hair were dancing a little when he was typing away on that keyboard. His tongue slightly touching his lips every now and then while he was concentrating on the task ahead.<p>

She closed her eyes briefly and placed them back on Michael. No distractions.

Owen crossed his arms "So this guy has information about Percy's lovely friends huh, can't wait to hear the nice stories he has to tell about those guys." He grunted.

Alex chuckled "Yeah he is someone alright. This man Romano de la Hay is joining a fancy party tonight. All the high and mighty are gathered there, also a few higher leaders from the CIA." She explained to Stella.

"He himself, isn't in any way connected to this party but somehow he got invited. We think that he might corrupt some of the CIA leaders, or that there are corrupt CIA leaders that communicate through him to get to Percy." She tapped a slender manicured finger on her lips "Or should I say Amanda. Anyway something is fishy about this guy and we need to capture him so we can get some information out of him."

The short girl shifted her weight over to one leg "So… sounds kind of easy. Nikita can just dress up, be beautiful but deadly at the same time, capture him and leave."

Nikita nervously tapped her finger on the back of Birkhoff's chair and pursed her lips "Yeah you see Stella. I was hoping you could be the beautiful diversion for us in this mission."

Everybody turned to Nikita in surprise.

Stella straitened her body and her chin rose "What? Why me? Don't tell me you're more beautiful than me crap because that is bullshit and you know it!"

Birkhoff shook his head, his eyebrows knitted together. He couldn't speak out loud but he wanted to shout  
><em>'Hell no! No dirty old guy can touch my little Stella!'<em>.

Nikita sighed "I know but this is the best option with the biggest chance of succeeding this mission. Let me explain, I dug some information up about this guy before you arrived." She swallowed "I found out this guy has a rather specific taste in women."

Stella snorted and interrupted Nikita's explanation "What he has a thing for midgets?" she joked without any humor "I'm not _that_ short." She crossed her arms in front of her body. She always hated missions that had her interact with the male target. It always involved flirting with the creepers while she rather just blow their brains out with her gun.

Nikita grinned, she always liked Stella's bluntness and honesty, now it was her turn to be honest "Well kind of, he does like girls who are shorter than him with a 'nice rack' as he described at his favorite strip club."

Birkhoff's features turned dark. No way in hell will he let Stella accept this mission.

Stella's features turned to disgust. _Ewl great… he goes to strip clubs…_

"And since this guy is below 5.6 ft tall, me and Alex don't even come close even on flat shoes, though you are perfect." The Asian beauty finished off.

The short one crossed her arms in front of her chest and thought about it.  
>"Fine I will do this, but only if we take a small detour and it will go by my rules…"<p>

Birkhoff widened his eyes and clenched his fists at the same. He didn't expect her to accept this mission! He'd thought she would go all wild and crazy on them, never ever accepting this favor Nikita asked of her.

He did not like this, at all.

Nikita raised one eyebrow "Depends what the detour is all about."

* * *

><p>The black range rover stopped and Stella hopped out of the car. She couldn't believe her luck, they actually agreed to pick up the black box first before accomplishing the mission regarding Mr. de la Hay, all on her terms.<p>

They trusted her completely, this made her feel quite guilty but at the same time she was happy that she could finally set the plan in action. The team was delighted when she told them it would be important to pick up the black box first, thinking she was helping them, when in the mean time it was all for selfish reasons.

Walking two blocks she reached a pet store, thoroughly checking if she wasn't followed or spotted on any surveillance cameras, the short brunette walked inside of the store.

Opening the door the soft noise of a bell was heard.

Glancing around there were all sorts of cute animals instantly touching a weak spot inside of her, but she walked further.

When she reached the counter a young teenage girl was reading behind the cash register, while blowing bubbles with her bubble gum. She looked up with an bored expression upon her young features "May I help you?"

Stella looked at the girl "Yeah I was here last week and I left my gloves here, I think, did you find anything?"

The girl sighed and moved her eyes back on the magazine "What color were they?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Deep ocean blue, with the initials S.B. carved into them." Stella answered.

The teenager only moved her eyes from the magazine up to Stella as one of her bubbles popped "I think we might have found a pair of those, please follow me."

Standing up from her stool, the girl walked to a door in the back of the store and motioned for Stella to follow her. Once inside the stocking room Stella followed the girl further to the back of the building. Suddenly reaching to a halt when the teenager had to search for a type of key. Finally founding it the girl shoved aside some cardboard boxes and opened a secret door.  
>"I think you might find your gloves in here." Was the last thing she said as she was already walking back.<p>

Waiting for the girl to fully disappear Stella entered the small secret room. Multiple safes were stored here, but Stella reached for the smallest one of them all. Opening the safe she immediately opened the box that hid the black box inside. Reaching inside her bra, she took out a cable that connected her phone to the black box and set the secret mission in motion. All the black box holders would reunite in Amsterdam now, she had sent them all a signal.

Now that was done, she checked a program on her phone. Great, Birkhoff did not notice the signal, he was still offline like he promised her. Operation "clean sweep" would go in motion soon, she was the only one beside Percy who knew. Now it was time to gather all the remaining Guardians so they could capture oversight. Sighing she closed the safe and put the black box back in the cardboard shoe box.

Taking it with her she closed the secret door behind her, walking back to the store she felt guilty. She had set them all up, Nikita, Michael, Owen, Alex and Birkhoff.

But the lies and deceit weren't over yet. She still had to use them, she needed their help and when the time was ripe she would have no seconds thoughts switching sides. She hoped.

She walked back to the car, four "teammates" waiting for her impatiently. Alex being the only one who was staying at home being at Division and taking care of Jimmy.

Jumping back into the car all eyes settled on the small brunette. Climbing over Owen she sat in the middle of the backseat between him and Birkhoff. Lifting up the shoebox she smiled at them while rattling it "Got me some new shoes."

Grabbing the shoebox out of her hands, Owen opened it and pulled out the black box. Stella made noises of protest when he did, crossing her arms in front of her chest.  
>"Another one down." He mumbled while grinning like a Cheshire cat.<p>

Michael smirked and started the engine "Let's go to the hotel."

* * *

><p>After being praised for keeping her promise about bringing them the black box, Stella was glad when they finally reached the hotel. Now they could talk about the mission and stop making her feel guilty about misleading them.<p>

Michael, Nikita, Owen, Birkhoff and Stella were in the living room of the luxury hotel room they rented. The room was really big and comfy and Nikita didn't waste any time when she immediately started debriefing the mission. Explaining all the roles to everyone, Owen clapped his hands together and rose from his big comfy chair "Okay understood. I'll go get the costume's and the supplies we need." He walked to the door and Michael reached for the car keys. "Nikita and I will start exploring the area, looking for the best escape routes and hide outs if things get out of hand." Stella and Birkhoff nodded in unison "Prepare yourself as much as you can Stella," Nikita said as she put on her jacked and sunglasses, walking behind Michael she was almost through the door when she turned around "And don't worry, I'll pick up the dress for you." She grinned and continued her stroll, closing the wooden door behind her.

Stella sighed deeply and leaned back further into the fluffy sofa next to Birkhoff. She was all alone with him now and the atmosphere was quiet and awkward.

Birkhoff was typing away on his laptop while Stella just sat there. Staring at him.

He looked focused, nervous and a little pissed off somehow. Her eyes traveled down to his fingers with the golden rings on them, which were moving over the keyboard with lightning speed.

The gold bracelets around his wrists following his quick movements, dangling back and forth as he typed away. He didn't wear those at Division, scanning him she was looking for other changes on Seymour Birkhoff.

His glasses were gone, he must be wearing contacts, other than that he was still the same. Maybe a little chubbier but she didn't mind, she hated skinny guys. She liked her Birkhoff.

She grinned at the thought and the computer hacker was feeling watched as he turned his head away from the computer and on Stella, a small blush was evident on his cheeks "Stop staring at me." He complained, not liking the way her eyes were scanning all over his body, it made him feel self-conscious of himself, especially when she was grinning at him like that, making those cute dimples reappear on her delicate features. He couldn't help the blush, if this were Alex he would've thrown in a witty remark as "like what you see?" with a smirk or something like that. But with Stella his guard was down, and he would slip every now and then. Like right now.

She laughed "I was just admiring you Seymour, give a girl a break." She winked at him, and Birkhoff felt she was only playing with him.

He closed his laptop and sat up straight on the sofa they were sharing "Yeah well, stop it. Just continue to ogle Owen when he's back and stop comparing him with me." He muttered and he frowned.

Stella's features turned into amusement and he made her curious about what he was talking about. She lifted herself from her leaned back position and also sat up straight, turning her body towards him with one knee on the sofa.

Even though this whole situation was insane. Stella deceiving them all to rescue Percy. Being on this mission and in about five hours from now she had to flirt with some hideous guy. Birkhoff still made her feel at ease, like she had nothing to worry about. Nothing but him and herself, in this room, playing around.

She scooted a little closer to him "What do you mean?" she asked playfully, eager to know what went on in that mind of his.

He pursed his lips, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked away from Stella "I saw you touching his abs you know, when you made your little bonfire." He explained to her with an annoyed expression on his face "I know you like him."

The short brunette had to keep herself from laughing out loud. Oh she had missed this man so much. He couldn't be further away from the truth and that was so cute. He acted like a little kid when he was, dare she say it, yes jealous, he was jealous over that pea-brain. If only he knew that Stella was repulsed with touching him unwanted, he pressed her hand against his stomach and she didn't like the feeling of those hard abs. She preferred the softness of a waist with some fat on it any day. Just try lying on a man who is all muscle and with no fat, it is not comfortable at all, and because she preferred to be on top with her tiny frame Owen was not her option. She had to show the moping hacker that she preferred him over Owen and that she meant it.

So instead of laughing she couldn't help herself from grinning from ear to ear. Scooting even closer to the now sulking hacker, her body brushed against him and she felt him shiver under her touch, immediately alert he turned to look at her with surprised eyes.

What was she doing?

She smiled a warm genuine smile at him and he couldn't look away from those colorful big eyes as her quick movements startled him again. She reached under his shirt from his waist line and he felt the electricity shoot through his body as her warm soft hand started to caress his stomach. He felt her slender fingers brushing over his skin and dipping slightly into his belly button, making a circle around it with her other finger. Meanwhile she kept staring at him with those big eyes and he stared right back at her, too shocked to speak from the unexpected movements, his eyes wide.

She felt him holding his breath the moment she touched him, she probably caught him off guard suddenly caressing him so intimately, she hadn't been this close to him in over four years, so she could relate to him, she would probably be startled herself if he suddenly touched her like that.

"For your information," she started "I prefer your stomach over his any day." Stella reassured keeping her eyes locked on his, still smiling warmly at him, making sure he got the message.

Birkhoff could only swallow and blink as she didn't stop her ministrations with her hand, he was breathing fast now and he knew that Stella could feel his nervous excitement. But Stella didn't want to stop, she liked the feeling of his warm and soft skin there, caressing him a bit harder she was glad when there was no immediate feeling of hard abs, but a soft layer of fat covering them. That felt so much better than Owen.

Tracing his hairline from his belly button downward she removed her hand from his body when she reached the waistband of his boxers. She heard him make a soft noise of protest when she removed her hand and it made her heart skip a beat, was she having that much of an effect on the Shadow Walker? It was such a gentle, innocent touch.

All this didn't last longer than a couple of seconds but it was all so sudden, so intimate and so intense, it felt like much longer than that for the computer expert. He couldn't help the effect she had on him, normally he was so full of confidence around women, but around her, she somehow managed to get his defenses down, turning him into a nervous wreck.

_God, Birkhoff, way to go making a complete idiot out of yourself. _

He didn't even dare to look at her. Shifting uncomfortable in his seat the hacker averted his eyes from her and reached for his laptop, he felt himself getting exited and he didn't want Stella to think he would come in his pants from just one simple caress of her hand. So he rested the laptop on his lap, covering any evidence of excitement down there, while he thought about getting himself out of this situation.

_Say something you idiot! _

Right, he had been so caught up and mesmerized by her he forgot to talk. Wait cancel that, he was not _able_ to talk.

Opening his laptop he tried to act like nothing was bothering him at all.

"Ok, well my bad. You don't like hard abs, like any other normal girl." He confirmed, still not looking at the short seductive brunette next to him, glad he didn't stutter and was able to articulate that with fake confidence. He even managed to put some his usual wittiness in it.

She pulled both of her knees up on the sofa and planted her elbow against the headrest of the red comfy sofa, leaning her head against her hand while looking at Birkhoff, fascinated by his reactions. She defiantly liked this, the way he wantonly trembled under her innocent touch was just exiting and she was already eager to touch him again. To see what else she could do to him.

… And what he could do to her as well.

Licking her lips a she couldn't help the grin that tugged the corners of her mouth up. She knew he was pretending to work on his laptop and pretending to act cool. Which she loved about him, he was so versatile and interesting.

On one hand the computer hacker was sometimes so cute, adorable and childlike. But other times he could look totally badass, his sexily tossed hair, the ragged feeling of his beard, his strong arms and deep voice.

Like the times she would see him in the shooting area with Michael. Aiming his gun at the paper target and shooting at it full of confidence and precision, hitting almost every shot near perfection, if you didn't know you would've never guessed that he was the computer expert of Division.

"Good, I'm glad I made myself clear on that." Stella added, finding this whole situation amusing.

Birkhoff on the other hand felt quite awkward. He made a fool out of himself, startled by her touch like that. Ok so it was a long time ago since he was last touched by a woman, but that was not the problem here. With other women he always kept his cool, he had more than enough confidence to joke around and take the lead. Making her tremble under his touch, not the other way around…

But Stella. She was different from all of the others. He absolutely did not want to screw things up with her, which was making him feel insecure about himself. Something he never had any problems with before, his normally cocky self defenses fell down whenever he was around her.

The last time she tried to explain her feelings to him he had made a mess of it. The moment she left Division to become a Guardian he had fucked up big time. He was not going to let that happen again, not this time.

"I'm sorry Stella. I never should have acted the way I did when you left Division. I was stupid, scared and a coward. Please forgive me."

Stella's grin faded. Where the hell did that come from all of the sudden?

This time he caught her off guard.

His dark blue eyes were turned to her greenish ones now and she saw he was suddenly very serious about what he was saying.

She averted his eyes, afraid to look into those pools of sincerity. Of course she hadn't forgotten that incident she just was not thinking about that stuff at this moment.

Sucking in a deep breath she knew they had to talk this out sooner or later "You really hurt me back then Birkhoff." Her eyes were back onto his now her voice calm and soft, he nodded meekly and swallowed hard.

"I really did-" she knew it. She loved him. And she would have said it back then if he hadn't reacted the way he did. But she couldn't say it now, it didn't matter anymore.

"I really did like you a lot. And I was about to tell you how much I did when you got all mad about stuff I couldn't change." She almost whispered to him.

He grabbed her hand, he could be strong for her, he could do things right, he would show her by starting now "I know Stella. I know. I was so mad that I couldn't do anything to keep you from going," He squeezed her hand gently trying desperately to show her in every way that he learned from his mistake "I felt so helpless and I took my own insecurities out on you."

He chuckled sadly "You don't want to know how much I beat myself up when I figured out I was never going to see you again. The one girl in my life, I actually and genuinely cared for, was gone with the impression of me not caring at all."

Those words hit Stella like an arrow. Hard, deep, painful and penetrating.

She squeezed his hand back, letting him know she understood. "I secretly always knew that, it was just. I couldn't come back for you to tell you that I understood, I had to wait for you to calm down but then I would already be too late. I had to go, be a Guardian. No questions asked."

He nodded "You never did anything wrong Stel." Stella gave him a small reassuring smile and no words were further needed. She had forgiven him for the way he acted and he couldn't be happier about that. Slowly he placed his laptop back on the coffee table, never letting go of her hand.

Once the laptop was gone he placed his other hand on her lower back of the short girl and his eyes were all over her features. She looked beautiful, gorgeous, just plain perfect. He moved his hand from her back to comb his fingers through her chocolate brown ponytail, which felt silky and soft. He was tempted to touch that all day.

Her smile broadened and those cute dimples in her cheeks reappeared when doing so, showing him a glimpse of her perfect white teeth. She licked her lips and he couldn't take his eyes off her mouth now, suddenly he was obsessed with those reddish, plump, kissable lips.

He could not contain himself any longer, he was drawn to her, like a bee to its honey, he wanted to kiss her so badly.

His heart was beating more rapidly and he felt himself breathing a little faster. He had to do this, he had told her how much he cared about her, now he had to show it to her. He tried to collect all of his confidence together.

_Come on Birkhoff be a man. Think like Michael!_

A small blush was evident on his face but he was determined to show Stella that he could make her swoon too. He would make sure he would not disappoint her, he would give her the most intense kiss ever!

Wait, was he even capable of doing that?

_No, no don't think like that Birkhoff. Do not doubt yourself. Just kiss her like you never kissed anyone before. _

_**Just do it already and stop thinking about it!**_

Clueless as she was, Stella wasn't aware of the inner dialogue that was going on in the mind of the computer hacker. So she was just enjoying the close company of them being together and on good terms again about that 'incident' back then. Smiling when he softly stroked her hair, enjoying his gentle touch.

When suddenly he looked determined, like he made up his mind about something and swiftly snaked his hand behind her neck, the redness on his cheeks pre-alerting Stella for what he was about to do, and before she could protest she felt him pushing her towards him.

Finally having the courage he tilted his head and moved in, closer to those wonderful, full, red, shiny, probably soft, lips…

Which he did not get to touch when she abruptly stopped him by pressing her hand against his chest. He could feel her hot breath ghosting over his face as they were now millimeters apart, he was so close to those perfect lips, he could smell she used some strawberry lip balm and he almost whimpered at that. He loved strawberry flavored things.

"I'm sorry Birkhoff," she whispered "I'm not ready for that…" she pushed herself farther away from him and Birkhoff could shoot himself on the spot. He was such an idiot, how could he ruin such a good thing they had going here! Great now he could forgot all about it. _Way to go dumbass!_

He should've never tempted himself with those gorgeous full lips. He hated himself badly for wanting to kiss her so desperately. If only he had more self control. God he suddenly wished she wasn't so hot, so freaking bendy, so cute, so sexy, so good looking, so smart, so sweet and so tempting.

He nodded meekly and averted his eyes, feeling embarrassed and stupid, his head fell down.

But Stella raised his chin up with her hand gave him a quick peck on the cheek, her eyes locking on his "yet." She added with a smile.

"I have to be successful Birkhoff. This mission is important. If you go kissing me right now, which I know will be the best kiss of my life, I'll never be able to do my work tonight."

That lightened him up, so she did want to kiss him! His eyes sparkled again and he smiled back at her, both in relief and new found lust. But also reminded him of the mission. _Damnit!_

"I promise," she whispered in his ear "that I'll do everything in my power to stop him from kissing me and if he doesn't," her lips were almost caressing his earlobe but she pulled back and looked into his blue eyes "I'll promise you I'll be ready to kiss you that same night, and then you can kiss me like you have never kissed anyone before."

Birkhoff swallowed audibly "Okay then," he tried to redeem himself as he ran a hand through his hair "I'll go kill him, right now."

Stella had to laugh out load at that, while Birkhoff was not laughing, at all…

"You are funny B." she said and gave him another peck on the cheek.

"Let's prepare ourselfs for the mission now though." she added and Birkhoff sighed deeply.

How in the world did he get into this. Why didn't he take up skate boarding or something when he was in high-school.

But noooo, he had to become one of the worlds most greatest hackers and look were it got him.

He ran another frustrated hand through his hair.

He hoped Nikki and Michael would come back soon. He didn't know if he'll be able to keep himself from ravashing the girl next to him for long...

* * *

><p>T.B.C.<p>

Please do review, I'm really curious what you think about the Stella/Birkhoff part. Is it good and can I keep writing this way or do I have to make some changes?


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the long wait. But it's a long chapter and I just know you will enjoy this!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

* * *

><p>Ding!<p>

The elevator doors opened and the two ex Division agents stepped inside, Nikita carrying a fancy looking shopping bag.

"You left them there together on purpose, didn't you." Michael drawled.

Nikita only smiled mischievously and removed her sunglasses from her nose, slipping them into the pocket of her coat.

"Maybe" she said playfully, standing on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek.

Reaching one of the upper floors, they stepped out of the elevator and walked over the plush carpet, muting the sound of the heals from Nikita's boots.

Nikita grabbed his arm, pulling Michael a bit downward so he could hear what she was about to whisper "I hope we walk in on them kissing."

Michael could only roll his eyes, yeah right. Like you could sneak up on one of the best stealth agents of Division. But smiled anyway at Nikita's excitement. He was glad she opened up more and had lost some of the seriousness.

"Maybe you should change professions, from killer agent to matchmaker." He joked back and the smile and playful eyes he saw on her face made him weak. She was such an amazing woman.

Zipping the keycard through the hotel door Nikita stepped inside quickly, hoping that her little side plan had worked. Michael had to smirk at that while he shook his head.

But they weren't kissing, not even sitting close to each other, much to Nikita's chagrin.

Birkhoff didn't even look up from his laptop "Hey Nikki, hey Mikey, did you get a good scout?"

Nikita shrugged off her coat and put the bag on the floor "Yeah sure," she scanned the room, Birkhoff sitting all alone on the sofa and Stella nowhere to be seen… "where is Stella?"

Then she noticed a hand waving in the air above a big comfy armchair that was turned with its back to the sofa, big enough to hide the small girl "Over here. Mr. Shadow Walker was being distracted by my presence so I had to sit over here." She whined.

Birkhoff scowled but was grinning on the inside, knowing the real reason why he couldn't work with Stella next to him "Yeah well maybe if you stopped touching my things, I might have let you stay."

It was a more quiet response but the undertone was thick "I shall remember to never touch your things again." The short brunette vowed.

Birkhoff pursed his lips and stayed silent. _Crap, bad comeback._

Nikita sighed as Michael chuckled in amusement "Well that went well" he softly said to her. She decided to ignore him, not liking the fact that her little side plan had failed, and walked around the big chair so she could finally see Stella.

Curled up in the soft cushions, it almost looked like the chair was eating her alive.

Glancing up from her notes the small girl acknowledged Nikita standing before her.

"Are you ready to change?" Nikita asked her.

Stella sighed "Well I'm never ready for these kind of missions, but yeah I know everything there is to know about this creep so let's get this over with."

Nikita walked over to the bag with the dress in it, Stella following her "Make sure you finish everything up Birkhoff, in two hours we'll be crashing that party." The Asian beauty pressed walking into one of the major bedrooms.

He laughed cockily "Ha! I fucking _own _that place, every surveillance camera is _mine_," he retorted while Stella rolled her eyes and followed Nikita into the bedroom, closing the door behind her before Birkhoff could finish his tantrum about his own awesomeness "like always I rule, because I am a genius!" he yelled that last part, hoping they'd hear it.

Michael raised one eyebrow in amusement and took a sip from his water bottle he had just got himself.  
>"You OK there Birkhoff, you seem a little edgy." Even though it was funny, he was a little worried about his hacker friend, he seemed a little more touchy than normal.<p>

Running a hand through his hair, the Shadow Walker was indeed a bit piqued "Mikey can't we just kidnap this guy another way? Shoot him with a tranquilizer gun when he is doing his groceries or something, I don't like this."

Michael couldn't help but to smirk a little, so that is the thing what was bothering the nerd, Stella seducing another man.

Oh this was payback time. For all the times he had teased him whenever Nikita was out doing that kind of missions. Not sleeping with the targets, but when there was a little seduction involved, Birkhoff would always get under his skin and say teasing things like: 'Hey Mikey how are you doing, I wonder what Nikki is up to right now, hmm probably sticking her tongue into that hot blond male target or something, oh well see you later!'  
>He could still hear his laughter through the corridors whenever he did that.<p>

Two can play that game Birkhoff. He silently thanked karma for this.

"Oh don't worry Birkhoff you have nothing to be afraid of, this mission will go just smoothly." he walked over to where Birkhoff was sitting and patted his shoulder in a friendly way.  
>The hacker looked up at his friend with hopeful eyes "Are you sure, how do you know?" he asked skeptically.<br>Michael was leaning on the sofa now and took another sip of his water bottle "Because I just went shopping with Nikita and we bought this really, tiny, curvy, sexy dress," he made sure to emphasize and pronounce every adjective as slowly as possible, "that will reveal every lovely curve of our little Stella, no man and I _literately_ mean no man, will be able to resist her."

Maybe he was a bit over exaggerating, but hey, it was fun making Birkhoff squirm about the girl he liked for a change and besides, the hackers reaction was priceless.

Eyes wide, one eyelid twitching, fingers stopped typing abruptly, head slowly turning towards Michael, the bomb exploded,

"You did _what_?! Are you insane?! She'll get raped before she even enters the building!" the hacker yelled and he was immediately on his feet, laptop falling off his lap and luckily landing on the sofa next to where he was sitting.

Michael, glad that he was leaning against the sofa for support, couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing out loud uncontrollably, clutching his sides with his arms. Revenge was sweet.

"Stop laughing you idiot, this is not funny!" he commanded through gritted teeth.

Nikita who was startled by the sudden yelling, peeked her head through the door opening.

Michael was laughing like a maniac and Birkhoff was stomping through the room, barking at Michael to lend him a rocket launcher, pronto.

Nikita deadpanned and slowly retreated back into the room.

"Everything OK back there in testosterone land?" Stella asked, while she was rummaging through her clutch, making sure she had every item that she needed.

The Asian beauty sighed "Remind me to put Birkhoff on a sugar rehab when we get home."

Stella giggled "Just threat to give all his money to charity if he won't listen to you."

Nikita nodded "Yeah that's a good one I'll keep that in mind, he really loves his money." She said and unfolded the dress out of the bag.

"Now," she turned around and showed Stella the dress "get ready for your transformation."

* * *

><p>Birkhoff had calmed down a bit but he was still not happy with this mission. He never liked these missions. Had it been Nikita, Stella or Alex. He cared for all of them and hated men who lusted over them like they were a piece of meat.<p>

Placing his cappuccino on the table he threw in 8 cubes of sugar and stirred the warm liquid into a sweet emulsion.

Owen was watching him with humor and continued his reading through the same material for the third time, making sure he didn't miss anything important.

He got back half an hour ago with the tickets and suits for Michael and him, just in case they had to do some improvising and were in need of a suit, but hopefully everything would go according to plan.

Finally the bedroom door opened and all three heads looked up in anticipation. Nikita walked out first, wearing her usual black tight fitting clothing and Michael wolf whistled at her, making her smile "Wait till you see the icing on the cake." She announced proudly and as she spoke Stella walked out wearing her dress for that evening, with a frown on her face.

Sure, she liked wearing dresses, just not when she had to seduce some icky guy, and especially not when she felt like she was showing off more cleavage than Pamela Anderson.

She was wearing a satin vanilla colored halter neck dress that hugged her body like it was made just for her. The front was cut deep so it showed off her well endowed chest, were Nikita insisted to put a hint of baby oil on her cleavage to show off the girls even more, and the back of the dress was open but not overly so. The fabric stopped above her knee, and together with some black heels it made the small girl appear a little taller than she was, but still short enough for the target.

Her hair was up in a simple but elegant bun and she wore some expensive looking earrings, in other words she was ready to seduce a pervert.

Walking further into the room, Stella felt her boobs bounce with every step that she made, making her frown even more prominent. Especially when she saw three pairs of male eyes staring at the bouncing beauties.

She missed her sports bra already.

Michael was the first to break through the spell and immediately looked at Nikita who's arms were crossed in front of her chest, one finger was tapping impatiently on her biceps and he knew that was not a good sign.

Birkhoff scanned her entire frame. If it was possible he just fell even more in love. She had a bit of Brazilian blood in her and wow, those legs just looked perfect with that color dress. It looked like she had just been on a sunny vacation for a week.

And her pretty face, her hourglass figure, her curvy ass… Overall she was perfect and he could not stop staring at her and… those boobs, they were just screaming; look at me, look at me! He wondered what it would feel like if he…

"Wow Stella you look hot! Wouldn't you rather go on a date with me and forget all about this mission!"

Owen's proposition broke the Shadow Walker out of his lewd thoughts. Apparently Owen had been thinking the same thing. That scumbag.

He was about to give Owen a piece of his mind when Stella interrupted them "You are both dumbasses, and I would appreciate it if you would stop staring at my boobs!" she scolded them and grabbed her coat that was hanging near the door, wrapping it around her she made sure to close it up thoroughly, not a hint of skin was shown beneath her neck.

They both gulped and sat back on their seats in shame.

"Nikki let's go. I can't wait to finish this mission." Nikita nodded, grabbed the ticket and walked out of the door following Stella's footsteps, before she closed it she gave them all an evil glare and smacked the door closed.

Suddenly it was awfully quiet in the room. The only thing that was heard was Birkhoff, who face palmed.

Owen scratched the back of his head "Women, I'll never get them." He mumbled to himself and continued working, checking surveillance cameras.

Michael rubbed his beard with his fingers "Why the hell are we men so visually set? I don't even care for big boobs." he tried to make sense, more to himself than the rest.

Birkhoff sighed "Yeah but you like boobs. Period. It doesn't matter if they're big or small, as long as they are nice looking boobs we won't be able to ignore them."

He stared at the wall "I really do like Nikki's boobs as well…"

That's it.

Michael sat up straight "Ok enough about those distractions! Let's just focus on this mission now!" he ordered and Birkhoff immediately put on his headset. Making sure everything is working properly he started testing the earpieces.

"Nikki, Stel do you copy this?"

There was a short silence but Stella was the first to respond "Yes, do you copy being a pervert?"

Birkhoff sighed "Yes. I am sorry for being a man. You put them on display, we look at the goods, what can I say. I like them."

Oh wow he surprised himself with that comeback. Guess it was easier to talk to her over the headset, when he wasn't distracted by her visual appearance.

This time it was Nikita who answered "Ok Birkhoff, Stella, enough with the wisecracks, time to get serious. I'll be dropping Stella off in 40 seconds and I'll be waiting nearby. Everyone be on standby."

Suddenly everyone's demeanor changed as realization crept upon them. Time to get serious.

With a "good luck" from Nikita Stella stepped out of the car and into character.

Ready to get this over with as quickly as possible.

* * *

><p><em>Now where is that perv…<em>

Gracefully walking through the big ballroom, Stella was checking out the entire setting. She found her target standing near the bar.  
>"Typical." She whispered and strolled over to the bar.<p>

"What?" Birkhoff replied.

"Nothing." She responded quietly and tried not to scowl when she felt like she was being watched by all of the men in the room. This would be the last time she would do something like this.

As Stella ordered a drink she knew what she had to. She couldn't just walk over to him and be like, 'I want you, come with me' that would probably not be the most successful approach. No, she had to talk with him and slowly reel him in. Taking a sip of her martini, she turned her head around, noticing he was already checking her out.

Maybe she could go with option number one…

* * *

><p>As Birkhoff and Michael listened to the conversation between Stella and the target, Michael noticed Birkhoff's impatience.<p>

He was nervously tapping his hand on the armrest of the sofa and although he knew about the sugar intake of his hacker friend, this wasn't one of his hyper sugar twitches.

"Birkhoff. Calm down, you know Stella is one of the best agents. I trained her myself and she was trained by Percy. She can handle this."

Birkhoff looked at his good friend "I know I'm not worried." He retorted but Michael was not convinced with that answer.

_I'm just worried she'll have to kiss him at some point._

His first priority was keeping Stella safe, the second one was keeping her from touching that creep. If she could keep herself physically away from that man, she promised him she would be ready to kiss him after the whole thing was over.

And he did want to kiss her, badly.  
>Sighing he stopped the tapping with his fingers and ran a hand through his hair. He wished someone would just kill the man already…<p>

* * *

><p>While Stella was talking with the target she noticed some people entering the ballroom who were looking awfully suspicious.<p>

"Excuse me for a moment Mr. de la Hay, I'll be right back," Stella touched his arm gently "Don't you move." She joked, and walked off as he ogled her from behind.

"B, I need you to check out three men that just entered the area. I don't trust them, the look on their faces tell me they are not here to enjoy a party…"

As she walked over to the side she noticed that they were walking over to target and started talking to him about something. Out of the corner of her eye she saw them taking him somewhere private and into a secluded room. One guy stayed outside to guard the door.

"Crap…" Stella whispered and a woman next to her turned her head and gave her a disapproving look. Stella just stuck out her tongue and walked away as the woman gasped a 'how rude' to her husband.

"B, did you see all this."

"Yes, don't stick out your tongue to old ladies it's rude."

She rolled her eyes "Stop fooling around."  
>"Just joking but you're right, this is not something we would've expected. I'm running the three musketeers through facial recognition as we speak."<p>

Stella walked into a hallway which leaded to the ladies room, but she walked passed that door and entered a small room with nobody in it. Locking the door she blew out a breath she didn't even knew she was holding.

"Can you check for any ventilation shafts? Or other entries." She asked him and she heard his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"There is a small window in the back of that room, but it is pretty high up, you'll never be able to reach it."

Stella smirked "We'll see about that, is there a window above that other window?"

Birkhoff hesitated "Yeah but, what are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry about that, just lead me to the room above." Opening the door Stella walked through some more hallways and ended up near the kitchen. Glancing around she found a room where the staff could change clothes. She quickly discarded her dress and heels and stole some clothes that seemed fitting to her. A black legging, a black tank top and dark green vest would do just fine for this work. On her bare feet she sneaked through the hallways and found a stairway. Climbing up the stairs she waited for Birkhoff's directions.

"Ok so go left over here." Following his orders she quickly arrived at the room above. She tried to open it but is was locked. Grabbing her purse she found her lock pick and within moments she opened the door. Stepping inside she noticed the room was dark, and there was a desk at the end. Walking over to the window she opened it and looked down. The other window was directly under her, perfect.

"Stella? What are you doing?" Birkhoff was worried about her.

But she shushed him "Be quiet B, I need to find out was is going on in there."

She crawled onto the window frame and dangled her feet outside. There was a flagpole that she could reach from here. Taking a deep breath she jumped and grabbed the flagpole with her hands. Making a turn around the flagpole with her body she pulled herself up. Dangling her body over the pole she let herself hang on the inside of her knees as she was now upside down and dangling from the flagpole. Finally she could reach the small window below her, carefully she maneuvered her body slightly to the left, over to the window. With her hands she pushed her body from the wall over to the window to take a peek, she kind of felt like spider man doing this.

Glancing into the room she could see that they had already murdered Mr. de la Hay, and according from the red streaks across his neck, they probably had choked him to death. They grabbed the body and dislocated his shoulders and hips and placed him into a cart which they disguised into a food cart.

Not sure who these men were Stella watched closely as they disappeared from the room. Pulling herself up by her strong legs, and glad she did not weigh a lot because of her small frame, she climbed up onto the pole. Standing on it she could just reach the edge of the window, hanging on the edge she pulled herself up and climbed back into the dark room.

Panting from the hard work she contacted Birkhoff "B, they killed the target. I repeat, target is down. Make sure you have some good images of their faces, because I sure as hell have no idea who they were."

She heard him sigh in relief "You're ok and he is dead, this is perfect. Abort the mission, I already had contact with Nikki she'll be standing on the rendezvous point."

Stella smiled and shook her head, she knew he was secretly happy with the way this mission turned out and if she was honest to herself, she was happy too.

* * *

><p>Michael removed his headpiece "I got confirmation from Nikita that Stella is in the car, safe and sound, with not a scratch on her body." He eyed the computer hacker and smirked at his friend.<p>

Birkhoff let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, a smile was evident on his features.

Michael raised an eyebrow in amusement "You're just glad that your wish came true huh, the guy is dead after all."

Birkhoff pursed his lips and rested his hands behind his head as he leaned back smugly, knowing something Michael didn't know.

That this change in the script had rewarded him with a long awaited kiss.

* * *

><p>Stella stepped out of the car and into the hotel lobby with Nikita. After Nikita had debriefed her in the car about everything the quiet walk to the elevator was killing her. Her mind started racing about Birkhoff. Just when she was on his good side, and things were starting to progress in their relationship, she was thinking about Percy.<p>

She was going to let him down and everybody else when she will have to turn against them to save Percy. Birkhoff will probably hate her, leaving them in another complicated situation. Just like their time in Division, she had to keep secrets from him, now is no different.

If she kisses him now it will take their relationship to the next level, making it harder for her to leave him when the time comes and harder for him when he finds out she is still working for Percy. Maybe it would be better if she just kept their distance between them. There is just no possibility for them to be together in this life they are living.

"Stella? You're awfully quiet are you ok?" Nikita's voice broke through her thoughts as they walked out of the elevator and to the door of the hotel suite.

"Just a little tired. I'll be fine." She reassured the always caring Nikita. The Asian beauty nodded, not entirely believing the short brunette but decided to let it drop.

Opening the door they were greeted by Owen "Well that was strange huh? Do any of you know who might of killed our target?"

Nikita shook her head "No, I was hoping you guys got something out of running them through facial recognition."

"Not even one of them." Michael commented and saw the looks between Birkhoff and Stella. They were both acting strange for some reason.

Nikita noticed it too and looked at Michael while nodding at the two of them, silently informing him that she shared his thoughts "We should grab our stuff and go home, I don't know about you guys but I just want to get out of here. We'll figure this mystery out when we get back." Nikita announced but Owen interrupted her.

"Could you drop me off at the train station? I got a new lead on another black box and I know you've got your stuff to do, and I have got mine. Not that I don't like hanging out with you guys but, I like flying solo."

Michael nodded "Of course Owen, we couldn't thank you enough for all your help."

"Maybe we'll meet again sometime, in better times I hope." Nikita said and smiled at him.

Owen crossed his arms in front of his chest "I hope so too you guys. Let's get packing and get out of here."

* * *

><p>The ride home was awkward. After they dropped Owen off at the train station, Birkhoff and Stella were in the back of the car and the computer hacker hoped he would get to make out with Stella all the way home, but she was asleep. Although he wasn't sure if it was really sleeping or if she was faking it.<p>

Plus the silent treatment when she entered the hotel wasn't getting his hopes up either. What was going on? Did she change her mind about them? Did she still hate him?

He didn't want to bring the issue up in front of Michael and Nikita, the consequences of that could be an even more pissed off Stella. So he decided to stare out of the window instead.

Finally arriving at the beach house, Jimmy barked at them and Stella hugged him tightly "Did Alex take good care of you? Oh you feel heavy so I think she did!"

Birkhoff looked annoyed at the exited dog. _Sure, the mutt gets hugs and kisses but I get the silent treatment. _

Putting him down she stretched her arms "Guys I'm really tired, I'm going to take a shower and go to bed, I'll see you in the morning." Stella announced and she was already walking up the stairs.

Nikita put her stuff down on the table "It was a long day indeed, thanks for helping us out on the mission Stella, and the black box, sleep tight."

Stella nodded and jogged to her room as she left behind a very confused computer genius. _What the hell is this all about? _A few hours ago she was totally into him, now she's ignoring him like the plague. _Maybe she just doesn't want to show it in front of Michael and Nikita?_

Irritated about the whole situation Birkhoff grabbed a Red Bull from the refrigerator and sat down behind his pc with a deep sigh. He needed some sugar.  
>"Nerd do you want to talk?" Nikita asked him from behind.<p>

"No I'm fine Nikki thanks, you guys should go get some sleep too. It's almost two am."

Michael hugged Nikita close and kissed her forehead "We will, and you should too Birkhoff."

Not removing his eyes from the screen the hacker responded "Yeah yeah just checking if everything is still up and running smoothly." He said and took another big gulp from his energy drink.

As Michael and Nikita reached their room the Asian woman had to express her worries "Do you think Stella is still mad at Birkhoff for what happened that day when she left?"

Michael shrugged "I don't know beautiful, they are both hardheaded and stubborn individuals, there could be a million things that happened they're acting strange about."

Nikita nodded "You're right, they'll probably figure it out on their own, this whole situation we're in doesn't really help out either."

Michael smiled at his girl "You know, this is just one of the many reasons I love you. You're so caring. You'll make a great mother someday."

She chuckled "Don't be ridiculous, I have to take out Division first and I want to be married before I even think about having children." She grinned at him.

He laughed at her wittiness "Ok, fair enough." he said as he walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the mouth.  
>"I'll keep that in mind…"<p>

* * *

><p>Half an hour later Birkhoff was in his bed pondering over everything that had happened.<p>

Everyone was probably asleep by now, it was a rather hectic day, but the hacker wasn't tired at all.

_Stella._ Her name had repeated itself in his head over a hundred times this day. He couldn't figure out what he did wrong. Was she still mad about him staring at her chest? He did that multiple times at Division and she never got mad longer than five minutes over that. It must be something else. He rolled over and sighed. She had probably changed her mind about him. Not that he could blame her, he could only blame himself. He was stupid enough to get his hopes up upon such a beautiful girl as Stella. She could have anyone she wanted. Just like he knew he could never have Nikita, she was way out of reach. She always preferred Michael over him. So he quickly discarded the idea of Nikki liking him more than a friend and he settled for friendship between them. He should've done the same with Stella. Now look where it got him, rejected by someone you really like hurts so much. He'll never have her, he'll never have a chance to kiss those lips he wants to kiss so badly. But maybe it is for the better, he can't protect her anyway. He isn't good at killing people, he isn't the best at fighting. Someone like Owen would probably be better for her.

He bit his lip and he could almost, _almost_ feel tears swelling up in his eyes when suddenly he heard his bedroom door close. Reaching for his bedside lamp he turned it on and put on his glasses. As his eyes were adjusting from the light he sat up in bed and tried to find out who the small figure was that was approaching his bed.  
><em>Stella?!<em>

"S-Stella?" he whispered and blinked a couple of times when finally his eyesight was back 100%, and confirmed him that indeed Stella was walking over to his bed.

Her expression was blank and she walked over to him slowly. He couldn't read her at all and didn't have a clue what was the best thing to do right now, so he just stayed put.  
>"Are you ok Stella?" he whispered to her, hoping she would give him some feedback, he was getting worried about her, she looked like there was something wrong.<p>

And he was right, there was something wrong with the short brunette. Stella was having an inner war. She wanted to kiss him, but at the same time didn't want to hurt the hacker even more when she would leave them again. She went over to his bedroom but she still hadn't decided what she would do. Now she was standing in front of him and her decision was made. He was looking more attractive than ever. His hair was sexily tossed and those puppy eyes that were looking up at her from underneath his glasses were showing so much love and devotion that she couldn't resist him any longer.

She jumped on top of him with immense speed, straddling his hips beneath the bed sheets and grabbed both of his wrists pinning them next to his head as he fell back down on the bed. Birkhoff was startled and flabbergasted, his heartbeat was increasing rapidly and before he knew what was happening to him she placed her mouth over his and she was kissing him heatedly and possessively like he was now hers and she owned him. He immediately moaned into her mouth when he could taste that strawberry lip balm of hers as she quickly deepened the kiss, eagerly exploring him like she wanted to do for so long now and he was not about to stop her.

Oh god he had wanted this for so long and now it was actually happening, all his insecurities about them were thrown out the window the moment she put her soft, plump lips over his and the hacker was getting aroused and ready within seconds. This girl, all the tension between them, all the years of absence, all the drama, it all came together in this devouring kiss.

But the kiss came to a halt and he made a whining sound when her tongue wasn't caressing his any longer. Letting go of the hacker's writs Stella removed his glasses and threw them somewhere on the floor. She looked at him, there was only one word to describe the Shadow Walker right now, sexy.

And she was totally right about the kissing. He was the best kisser she ever had. Maybe he would be the best at some other things too...

"I want you Seymour," her voice was full of lust and determination and before he could even reply she had already claimed his mouth once again. And she was kissing him, frantic and desperate, enjoying the softness of his warm mouth and the roughness of his beard against her face.  
>Quickly catching up, his hand were now free to roam her body as he grabbed the back of her head with one hand and the other was squeezing her firm ass, rewarding him with a needy, muffled moan in his mouth from <em>his<em> Stella, turning him on even further. The kissing and the groping left Stella breathless as she removed her mouth from his to catch some much needed air, making her sit up on top of him grinding herself against his already hard member. Even through the thickness of the sheets and their thin sleeping gear he moaned at the friction of her movements as a shiver went through his spine and he looked up at the short brunette sitting on top of him.  
>She was catching her breath while he was caressing her very soft thighs and that gave him a few seconds to take her in. She looked beautiful, her eyes were full of passion and her red lips were swollen from kissing him so passionately and were slightly parted as she was taking in deep breaths of air. His eyes traveled a bit lower and noticed that her nipples were hard and prominently evident through her thin white tank top, drawing his hand toward them as he rubbed over one of the nipples with his thumb, making Stella gasp and tremble under his gentle touch, providing him with important information.<br>Smirking Birkhoff gained a confidence boost from Stella's reaction, making him feel he was the one in charge as he swiftly grabbed her tank top and made it disappear from her body, throwing it somewhere on the floor next to his glasses. Taking in the sight of her naked torso he felt his member twitch in excitement and he had to swallow, these had to be the most perfect pair of breasts in the world.  
>His instinct were taking over control, he had to have her<em>, now<em>. Grabbing her hips he pulled her forward roughly, sliding her off the sheets and making her squeal in surprise, he kicked the cock blocking layer away and threw Stella on her back as he crawled over her and settled himself between her legs, his pelvis trusting against hers making them both moan in unison. Stella was surprised but at the same time extremely turned on by his rough animalistic behavior, she never thought he could be so assertive.  
>Finally that layer between them was gone and Birkhoff looked at her lustfully "I want you too," he growled, breathing heavily and wrapped his lips over hers once again, taking her possessively and loving the taste of her. Strawberry flavored Stella was the best thing he ever tasted in his life.<p>

Stella's hands were caressing his T-shirt clad back with deep long strokes as his hands travelled to her chest as he started to caress her breasts. He stopped kissing her abruptly, delighting him with a cute noise of protest from the woman underneath him, which in return made him grin wolfishly.  
>"Now don't worry, you'll like this, I promise." He vowed cockily and dipped his head down to take one of the erect nipples into his hot wet mouth, caressing it with his slick tongue and sucking on it gently, while he rubbed the other one with his thumb.<p>

Stella could only take in deep breaths of air as her body was now under his complete control, sensual sounds escaping her lips as he continued on and switched his mouth to the other nub and started his ministrations on the other side.  
>She could curse, within minutes he already found her weakness, her breasts were really sensitive and every caress jolted a spark between her legs making her craving for more. Damn him and his talented mouth, damn him for his quick analyzing power, the plan was taking control over him not the other way around!<p>

Just when Stella thought she couldn't take any more the Shadow Walker moved his hand downward and started caressing her through her thin pajama shorts, making her eyes roll back and whimper loudly, probably waking up the neighbors but she didn't care at this moment, because this was torture and she hated it how she felt him smirk against her breast and tell her to keep it down, knowing he was the one with complete composure. He continued his ministrations which brought her closer and closer to the edge and she knew that that smug bastard knew exactly what he was doing to her as he took control over her all too willingly body. He kept teasing her and she had to do something before she would come too quickly for her liking, I mean he hadn't even taken her pajama shorts off!

Moaning desperate she needed to resist him. Fast. Meanwhile Birkhoff wasn't unaffected by her moaning and trembling beneath him. He didn't show it to her but he desperately wanted to rip those shorts of her body and plunge into her and give her a _real _reason to scream and moan even louder.

Stella's hands snaked downwards and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it upward, forcing Birkhoff to sit up straight so he could remove his T-shirt, giving Stella the opportunity to reclaim control over her body, when he wasn't sucking, licking and caressing her into oblivion. Thinking fast she started stroking his member through his boxers the moment he tossed his shirt on the floor, startling him as she swiftly pushed him over onto his back, straddling his hips once again, deliberately grinding onto him, _hard_.

A groan of pleasure escaped from his lips and she had once again taken control over her Birkhoff and this time she would drive _him_ mad with desire. She grinned at him as her hands traveled over his now naked torso, her eyes taking in his almost naked form.  
>Stella loved it, he felt so soft and warm, and those few hairs that formed a line from his bellybutton to the waistband of his boxers were so cute and sexy. Bending over she started licking his earlobe, trying to figure out where the Shadow Walkers other weak spots were hidden.<p>

Kissing him further down his neck, she noticed him shifting uncontrollably when she licked a certain spot beneath his ear. Kissing it again to confirm her suspicion, the computer hacker twitched and gasped again underneath her when she did. Delighted with his reaction she moved her hot mouth to his ear to whisper something to him "Now don't worry, you'll like this," she licked his earlobe "I promise." A sharp intake of breath was all Birkhoff could response with as she moved those soft lips to that spot on his neck again. Making him turn into a submissive prey beneath her, and she was the predator.

"A-Ahh!" he choked out and he was gripping the bed sheets with his hands as she bit him, hard, but started kissing the pain away with her soft and warm lips as he felt her smile against his skin. He was breathing hard after her attack and he was a bit shocked but secretly he had to admit, that he liked it. Heat coursed through his body and he felt his heart racing, she knew what she was doing to him and she was playing him like her favorite instrument, while he was making the sounds he knew she was enjoying. He already knew that this petite girl was a little fire cracker but what she was doing to him was mind blowing.

Just when the Shadow Walker thought he could breathe again, Stella suddenly attacked his mouth with hers, more forcefully than the last time she kissed him, nipping and biting softly on his bottom lip every now and then, barely giving him the time to get a gasp of air.  
>His strong hands were caressing her slender back and Stella's mouth suddenly was back on his neck, on the other side this time. Again licking his most sensitive spot, damn it! <em>Doesn't she ever quit?<em>

No. Because then she did that, she used her secret weapon on him, the one that made him go insane.

A fluid, seductive, erotic, movement with her hips, grinding over his raging hard erection, over and over and over again. Repeating itself while she kept nipping, licking and biting his neck. Birkhoff felt himself hardening even further and he knew what would come next. He was breathing uncontrollably heavy and fast now, he had to stop her before it was too late.

Stella squeaked as Birkhoff forcefully pulled her pajama shorts off, leaving her totally exposed to him for the first time. She glanced into his eyes and saw the lust in them, he must have lost control, she smirked and he growled.

Oh how he hated her for making him lose this battle, but he'll get her next time, now it's time to end this one. But he won't go down before she would be in complete oblivion he'd make sure of that. Throwing her on her back with his strength he swiftly removed his own last piece of clothing, which now joined all the other parts on the floor, his erection finally sprung free. He looked at her, lying there on her back, legs spread in all her glory.

God, she was, perfect and so incredibly sexy, he couldn't wait to enter that petite body of hers and have his way with her like he wanted to do the moment she walked back into his life. Somewhere he still couldn't believe that this was actually happening. While he was taking her fully naked form in Stella was also scanning his physique. He rested his body weight on his strong arms, and his chest had a few hairs on them which she found overly cute, then her eyes travelled downward and she swallowed. How was that ever going to fit in her tiny frame… She already felt it when she was grinding over him, Birkhoff was well endowed, especially for a small girl like her. He climbed over her and kissed her, surprisingly soft and tender, he must have seen the flick of fear in her eyes.

She smiled at him, she loved him for his tenderness, she knows he's using all of his left over control not to plunge into her right now, just to make sure she is OK with all of this.

She kissed him back, forcefully, willingly and eager, showing him she's ready and now she knew there was no way he would be stopping now. She opened up her legs ever further and he took the hint, her heart was beating fast and so was his as he entered her with one fluid motion, pushing himself fully into her, he moaned as her tight velvet walls clenched around him, they fit so perfectly together, like they were made vor one another. She was warm, soft and felt perfect around his throbbing member. Stella's body became tense, but she soon relaxed after she became used to his size. As he gently moved, Stella moaned as well and grabbed onto him for dear life, he felt her legs wrap around him and he looked at her. He thrusted into her once and he desperately wanted to move more but he had to know if Stella was enjoying it too.  
>The loud moan she erupted made his cock twitch inside of her and the look on her face of pure ecstasy gave him more than enough confirmation that she was indeed enjoying this just as much as he was.<br>A whine escaped her lips "Don't stop, Seymour!" the way she said his name in such a pleading matter almost made him lose it, but she insisted so he obliged. He started to move in and out of her, faster, harder. The thrusts became more vigorous as a result her cries became louder and louder, urging the Shadow Walker on to sent her into oblivion. He had set a steady pace, but he needed to calm down a bit, or else he was going to come before his Stella and that was not an option. She noticed him slowing down and gave him a pleading look, she wanted him to continue because he was making her feel so good. He kissed her, hungrily and roughly and he was going to fuck her with the same intent.  
>He sat up on his knees, spreading his legs a bit, and firmly grabbed Stella by her hips, he started moving in and out of her, starting a slow pace, because this new visual angle was almost too much.<br>He could see her entire body from here and the way she was spreading her legs like that, almost in a complete split, made his mind go berserk. He grabbed her thighs and pulled her against him with every thrust, penetrating even deeper into her. Soon he started a nice and slow rhythm trying to keep himself under control as he slowly adjusted to her.  
>Her legs were spreading even further now, turning into a oversplit, silently telling him she wanted more. He started to fasten up his pace, the grip on her legs tightened as he began to thrust more forcefully.<p>

Her moaning was getting louder "A-Ah! S-Seymour!" her face was in pleasure as she shouted out his name in ecstasy, "Harder!" she pleaded.

He knew, he felt it through her entire body that she was getting close, he decided to give her all he's worth for and starting thrusting into her as hard and fast as he could, he wouldn't last long though. But he could feel she wouldn't last long either because her cries became so loud he was sure he was going to hear it from Michael and Nikki the next morning.  
>He felt her walls tightening and hoped she would get there soon because he was going to come within seconds now, and lucky for him she did, and how. She howled out his name as her face was in pure bliss, she grabbed the sheets and her knuckles turned white from clenching so hard, all the teasing they did finally reached its climax.<br>He savored every moment she gave him, he already knew that this visual would reappear in his thoughts for many days to come. He kept going until he too could no longer hold it anymore, a few grunts and moans escaped his lips as she was slowly getting back to awareness, noticing he was almost at his peak, she thrusted her hips back as hard as she could into him, making him say incoherent things as he came into her deep and hard, moaning out her name repeatedly "StelStelStelStelStelSS_Stel_!" and with a few more thrusts he rode out his orgasm and let go of her thighs as he collapsed on top of her, trying to catch his breath. Their sweaty bodies were sticky but Stella couldn't care less. This man, is amazing, her orgasm, was freaking incredible. She searched for one of his hands and when she found one she entwined their fingers together.

After a few moments of trying to catch their breaths Birkhoff popped himself up on his elbows and gave her a sloppy, lingering, wet kiss on the mouth.

Silently saying to her that it was amazing, because telling her made him feel stupid, because of course it was amazing, he just witnessed it and she did too.

She only smiled at him, the dimples in her cheeks reappearing, making her even more attractive to the Shadow Walker as she did. Fishing for something to clean up with, Birkhoff reached sideways of the bed and grabbed the first thing he could find from the floor which was his T-shirt. He slid the shirt downward as he slowly pulled out of her making Stella moan softly when he did, cleaning them both up with it and tossing it back on the floor. "Needed to go into the laundry anyway." He shrugged and she laughed.

"What?" he asked and climbed off the bed, getting something to drink as Stella ogled his backside, all that panting made his throat dry. "Oh nothing" she said, "it's just, funny when you just had sex and we're kind of like crazy animals and now we're back to civil people again. Talking about laundry."

She heard him chuckle from the bathroom as he came back with a glass of water for her, which she gladly accepted.

"You are kind of right about that. Sex is kind of… weird actually." He mumbled and climbed back into bed with her, pulling the covers over them.

She finished her glass of water and scooped over to him, nesting herself against him, sighing contently.

They smiled at each other one last time before Birkhoff switched the bedside lamp off again, pulling Stella against him as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

He yawned and he heard her curse "Now what?" he asked her.

She sighed defeated "I wasn't… too loud now was I… Do you think they heard me?" she mumbled a bit embarrassed. He smirked but he knew she couldn't see him in the dark "Oh don't worry, all the girls react that way when they're with me."

She poked his side with her elbow, hard but she was smiling. _Smug bastard._

* * *

><p>Please review. I'm very curious to know what you guys think.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Free time. I love it. Another chapter is up.

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

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><p>Being the light sleeper that she is, Nikita woke up when she heard a hard moan coming from the hallway. She turned on her lamp on the nightstand and rolled over to wake Michael up.<p>

But he was already awake and she raised an eyebrow when she saw what he was doing. He used his pillow to muffle his ears, pressing the sides of the fluffy thing against his head with his hands, and he was looking annoyed, very annoyed.

She kept staring at him and he sighed as he removed his hands from his pillow. Irritated he looked at her but said nothing.

Nikita tilted her head and looked innocent "Was that… what I think it is?"

He pursed his lips and inhaled deeply "Yes." He shortly answered and was about to grab his pillow again "And I don't want to hear any of it." he frowned.

Her innocent look was gone immediately and a mischievous grin was plastered on her face "Way to go nerd," She mumbled proudly.

She was truthfully happy for him, she thought that he screwed it up again by being a jerk, but she was wrong and relieved he had made it up with the short brunette. Because let's be honest, he's a egocentric, cocky, stubborn, sugar high pervert with a sharp mouth. Most girls wouldn't fall for that. The only girl who ever had great interest in him from the beginning was Stella. When she came into the picture Nikita was glad to see that his little crush on her had disappeared the moment Stella walked through the doors. Turning them into good friends.  
>Very, very good friends.<p>

She remembered him being captured and tortured by Amanda. But he didn't say a word. He didn't give up on her. He was her brave nerd at that moment.

Another cry of pleasure was heard and Nikita was pretty sure it was Birkhoff this time…  
><em>And way to go Stella.<em>

The Asian beauty chuckled when she heard Michael groan with annoyance. She patted his head soothingly with a smile on her face "Oh honey are they freaking you out. Remember that we can't really say anything about it since we-"

She was cut off abruptly "Yeah yeah I know you don't have to tell me!" he rolled over to his side with his back to her, a little embarrassed when he was reminded about that little incident. They both thought that Birkhoff would be gone for hours when he said he was out to his favorite comic book store. Not considering the option of him returning sooner, the store was apparently closed due to a fire nearby. When they walked down the stairs after they were finished they knew he heard them as he was sitting there looking mischievously, a smirk plastered on his face as he kept pretending to work.

Nikita had shrugged it all off by saying 'Birkhoff already knows we're having sex, there's nothing for him to be surprised about.' But Michael was a very private person, Nikita was a little more open about stuff like that than he was.

It was silent again… for now. Nikita turned off the lights and snuggled next to Michael, hugging him from behind. Feeling happy that her nerd had finally found someone after all these years.

"I'm so happy for them." She said into his back as he shifted a little bit. "I know Birkhoff is pretty cocky when it comes to computers but I know, deep down, he is insecure about himself, especially with girls. He always keeps his distance, trying to protect himself from rejection."

Hesitantly Michael replied " I am happy for him too. But… I just don't want to think about Birkhoff having sex." Michael grumbled and she could picture the frown on his face when he said that.

Michael felt her smile against his shoulder blade "Well he does know how to penetrate everything by pressing the exact right buttons…"

She heard him sigh in annoyance as she hugged him tighter in her amusement.

"Shut up." He commanded but couldn't fight back the smile that reached his handsome features.

* * *

><p>Seagulls. Damn those annoying Birds!<p>

Birkhoff awoke with the sounds of seagulls flying over the house who were squawking all over the place. Moaning he scratched his beard.

Why did those birds had to be so damn loud. Opening his eyes he rolled over and noticed that Stella was not lying next to him. Immediately he felt disappointed because he was hoping that he would wake up with her next to him, so he could snuggle close to her warm body for a few extra minutes before he had to get out.

He stared at the empty spot in the bed as he started mulling over last night. He was really confident and cocky when it came to a lot of things, but sometimes his insecurities would get the best of him. He bit his lip as he suddenly felt insecure about everything that happened. Maybe she was having seconds thoughts and regretted everything that they did. Or were they moving too fast?

He sighed and decided he should just get out of bed.

Stretching himself like a cat he bended over the edge to find his glasses luckily nearby him on the floor. Putting them on he stepped out of bed and was about to do his morning routine when he finally noticed that Stella was still in the room, stretching on the floor, doing some kind of yoga in tight fitting clothes.

She grinned at him "Morning handsome." She said as she stretched her arms over her left leg while sitting. Her eyes were fixated on his physique and stopped at certain part of his body, which made her grin ever wider. She could get used to this, doing her morning exercise while ogling her Shadow Walker.

Right, he suddenly realized. He wasn't wearing any clothes. Blushing slightly he cleared his throat and folded his arms in front of his chest, absentmindedly trying to cover his body a little. Of course she had already seen him naked, but that was when they were both in the heat of the moment, having sex and they were both without clothes. Now he suddenly felt very self conscious as he could feel her eyes scanning his entire body. He uncomfortably mumbled a "Good morning" back as he quickly strolled into the bathroom.

He heard her giggle and he wished he could disappear right now.

Sighing he shook his head.

Last night… Was amazing and he was so full of confidence. He needed to stop feeling uncomfortable around her, they already had sex and _how_.

As he thought about it he felt the heat rushing to his face. Did he really do all that? Did she really do all that? He cupped his hand over his mouth and rubbed it back and forth over his face. He could still perfectly remember all of the sounds she made. Especially one in particular, when she screamed out his name. Why was he being a whiny little schoolgirl again?

His lewd, cocky smirk slowly returned.

He had absolutely nothing to be insecure about.

Stretching her other leg Stella watched as Birkhoff rushed into the bathroom and she giggled at his discomfort, he was so cute but at the same time that sexy image of Birkhoff, totally naked, hair wild and disordered, blushing slightly, with only his glasses on will forever be printed in her brain.

Glancing at the bathroom door Stella imagined he must be realizing the same thing as she did when she woke up early this morning. Did they really do all of that?

For her it felt really double, on one hand she couldn't be happier, but on the other hand she'll hurt him even more now when clean sweep would be set in motion.

Finishing up her exercises she suddenly felt sad and decided to go to her own room and change into some normal clothes.

* * *

><p>Slightly bummed that Stella was already gone just when he wanted to invite her to take a shower with him, Birkhoff jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen, all clean and tidied up, finding Michael en Nikita already there.<p>

_Fuck! He was in for it now._

He averted their eyes but he could feel them looking at him, he coughed nervously and muttered a "Morning," while he ran a nervous hand through his hair. He was trying to act as nonchalantly as possible when he walked passed them to get some milk out of the refrigerator, but he wasn't really succeeding.

Taking a sip from his coffee Michael raised his eyebrows in amusement and mumbled a 'morning' back, his trademark smirk in place and his eyes following the Shadow Walker's every move.

Nikita could only bit her bottom lip as she tried to hold back her excitement, she wanted to hug him and ask him how the sex was but she knew he would flip out if she did.

Grabbing his favorite cereal, the one with the highest amount of sugar in it, Birkhoff found a cereal bowl and started mixing his two ingredients together. So far so good, no awkward situations, he just needed a spoon. Glancing around there was no spoon to be found on the table and he turned to the kitchen to see Nikki leaning against the counter, and blocking the drawer he needed to open for his spoon. He licked his lips nervously as he had to make eye contact with Nikki now "Sorry Nikki I-eh need a spoon, could you step aside please?" he tried as politely as possible, hoping it would trigger her to react normal as well.

She glanced up at him from her glass of orange juice and smiled politely "Sure, go ahead…" she said as she stepped aside. Glad that she was acting normal he opened the drawer and reached for his spoon, just when he thought everything was going smoothly she finished her sentence.  
>"<em>Seymour...<em>" she purred out his name and his head shot up and his eyes were wide. Swallowing audibly, he felt the heat rushing to his face.

Knowing his defeat he grabbed a spoon and avoided Nikki's gaze as he sat down in front of his cereal "S-so you heard," he coughed "sorry," He mumbled embarrassed and put a spoon full of crunchies into his mouth.

Nikita beamed at him "Yup! Don't worry we only heard the really loud ones," he almost choked on his food when she said that which made Michael grin from ear to ear "but I am so happy for you two, I think you look cute together." She couldn't help herself and hugged her nerd from behind.

She didn't forget all the stuff he had done for her. All those times when Birkhoff had told her that She and Michael should be together, all those times he calmed her down when he was gone.

Even when he was visiting his son in England he always reassured her that he would come back, to her and nobody else.

She let go of him "How did you two end up together because I thought Stella was ignoring you for something you did." Nikita mused out loud.

"I'm irresistible like that." He shrugged, his cocky attitude already returning, which in return made Nikita roll her eyes but with a smile nevertheless.

Birkhoff was back.

* * *

><p>Senator Madeline Pierce eyed her companions as another Oversight meeting was opened.<p>

"The situation is critical, our entire record, everything we have worked for is in danger of being destroyed and why? Because of one person, Nikita."

One of them started.

Madeline licked her dry lips "She is determined to bring down Division at all costs. And the quickest way to do that is to get rid of their funders, us." She stopped and inhaled deeply "Two of us are dead now," her eyes scanned them all "thanks to her… and she won't stop until we join them."

They was a silence in the room "So what do we do now?"

"Division has grown too powerful for anyone to run it." The oldest member of the group said "We have to do something drastic and we all know what that is," looks were exchanged between them "Clean Sweep."

* * *

><p>Stella walked into the house through the back door and saw that they were all gathered around Birkhoff's computers. Jimmy was panting and went straight to his waterbowl to lick up some cold water as she immediately joined them.<p>

Nikita looked up "Ah Stella, let me fill you up with some information."

The short brunette looked at all the computers screens and immediately recognized the members of Oversight. This was not good, how did they know all of this. Taking in all the details, she found out that they had captured another black box already before hers which she saw lying between all the junk Birkhoff had on his desk, she gulped but didn't show her anxiety "Who are those people?"

She pointed at the screen, lying to them, feeling guilty already.

"These lovely people are members of Oversight, an organization that is funding Division, currently two of them are dead and now we are searching for information how we can take them down."

Nikita explained and crossed her arms in front of her chest "I got a message from Owen that is he currently tracking down a black box holder in Switzerland," All heads turned to Stella and she knew what they were expecting from her "You are also one of the Guardians. What do you know about them and how do you get your orders and from who."

Stella licked her lips. She had to play along, quick and lie her way through this "I don't know. They don't tell me anything. I get orders through the black box, they're directed from the box to my phone, but I haven't had a order from it in a long time."

She looked at Birkhoff and he nodded "True, I checked the box and no orders were sent to it since they're keeping Percy on ice."

She averted her gaze from him, if only he knew that was because she is the one sending out the orders to the rest of the holders.

Nikita sighed "So how come the other Guardians are on the move. This doesn't make sense." She frowned "We need to go and help Owen, it's our only lead to stop Percy and Oversight right now. Plus I heard that Alex is in Russia now, infiltrating her old home. We'll be close by in case she needs help."

Michael nodded "Ok, sounds like a good plan. Who will go where?"

Stella had to take her chances "I'll go with you and I'm taking the black box with me. Maybe I'll be getting orders from it soon, providing us with information that could probably lead us to the rest of them."

It was silent and Nikita eyed her skeptically but slowly nodded "Ok, you'll go with us. Michael and Stella can track the Guardian's while I'll go check up with Alex,"

Birkhoff cleared his throat "I want to go with you eh, you'll need my hacking skills out there." He proposed, but the main reason he wanted to join them was because he wanted to be close to Stella because with these jobs, you'd never know.

"No. You stay here with the other black box and try to figure out where the next Oversight meeting will be." Nikita ordered and started walking away, knowing that he wouldn't agree with her.

"What? Nikki! Come on you guys need me!" he stood up from his chair and followed her for a few steps. Michael put his hands into his pockets and stayed put, glancing at Stella who was pretty quiet and said nothing as Birkhoff continued his tantrum. "What am I going to do back here huh?" Nikita continued walking up the stairs "I think Stella would appreciate it if you could take care of Jimmy for her." And before Birkhoff could respond she cut him off "Get us on a private jet to Switzerland, we'll be leaving here in half an hour, make sure it's ready by then." And she disappeared into the bedroom.

He balled his fists but somewhere he knew she was right. He needed to stay here and keep an eye on things, plus he'll probably only be standing in their way back there. He calmed down.

Turning around he walked over to Stella "Well at least you know that Jimmy is in good hands here."

The short brunette smiled at him "Thanks, B." she said timidly, knowing he was disappointed, but secretly she was very glad he wasn't joining the party.

He glanced at Michael from the corner of his eyes as he stood closely to her. Turning his attention back to her he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and sat back down on his chair.

"You two better start packing, I'm ordering the plane right now." He started typing away on his keyboard while Stella and Michael exchanged looks with each other. Michael was the first to walk away as Stella gave Birkhoff another kiss on his temple and followed the former right hand of Percy.

_Oh Seymour. I'm so sorry for everything I'm about to do._

She knew that operation Clean Sweep was getting closer and closer. Soon she'll be the one on the other side of the party. Her look was determined. She wouldn't let Percy down though, she would do everything for him, even if it meant betraying the ones she loved.

* * *

><p>All packed up Stella threw her suitcase in the back of the van and closed the hood.<p>

Birkhoff was standing outside the house watching them get ready. Stella walked over to him and Jimmy. She gave her tiny pug one last cuddle "I'll be back soon Jimmy, you protect Birkhoff for me now."

The dog made a grumpy sound and she smiled. Turning her attention to the Shadow Walker she hugged him tightly, like it was the last time she would ever see him again.

Birkhoff hugged her back and when she let go he chuckled "Don't worry I'll see you soon." She smiled back at him but it was a bittersweet one "Yeah, of course."  
><em>Just not in a way I would want you to. <em>She thought.

His smiled faded when he noticed there was something wrong in her demeanor and before he could ask about it she kissed him. Their lips crushed together and Stella moved her lips over his. It was a long lingering kiss. Nikita watched them with a smile as she walked over to the car, Michael following her close behind.

Quickly turning around Stella strolled over to the car quickly, making this goodbye as painless as possible for her. The sooner they would drive away the better.

Birkhoff felt there was something wrong. Stella was again hiding something from him, he could see it in those eyes of hers and the way she hugged him like it was the last time. Maybe she was having doubts about him, he needed to make it clear to her somehow that he was serious about them.  
>"See you soon Birkhoff." Nikita said and before they all stepped into the car they were stopped when they heard Birkhoff say one last thing.<p>

"Stella!" he swallowed a lump in his throat "I love you!"

Michael and Nikita looked surprised and their heads turned to Stella as they saw her close her eyes and take a deep breath. The short brunette turned around and looked at Birkhoff standing there, about thirty feet away from them, looking at her with the most vulnerable look on him that she had ever seen. It broke her heart to do this, but she had no choice, if she didn't let go of him now, he would feel even more pain later.

"I'll see you soon."Was the only thing she said as she painfully smiled at him. She opened the door of the car and stepped inside, averting her eyes from him as she bowed her head. Letting her hair fall around her and hiding her face from him.

Michael and Nikita hesitantly stepped in the car and Michael turned on the vehicle. Nikita looked at her computer nerd, and his face almost broke her heart in two. The Asian beauty bit her lip and watched him disappear as they drove away. She wanted to yell at Stella but there was a lot of things going on between the two of them that she knew nothing about, maybe she had a good reason.

The tension in the car was there and Stella was the first to break it "I'm sorry Nikki. I'm just not ready yet. I know how much you care for him." She spoke softly to her.

Taking in a deep breath Nikita nodded "Thanks for sharing that. I understand…" it went silent again. Leaving Stella alone with her thoughts. Why did it had to be this way? If she was living a normal life and she would've met him they would probably be in a happy relationship right now. With no drama and no lies. Feeling her eyes tearing up, she needed to stop thinking about him and focus on the mission ahead.

In two days she would have to assemble all the Guardians in Amsterdam, then she would have to get rid of Nikita, Michael, Alex and Owen somehow so she could capture Oversight. Her eyes turned dark, she cared for him deeply and she would make sure he would be proud. _Percy._

* * *

><p>Arriving in Russia Nikita found out that Alex's mother was still alive and that she was with Semak now. The guy that ordered to kill her father. They both decided to work together to help Katya escape from the Udinov estate. However they soon found out that Katya, Alex's mother, is brainwashed by Semak. Thinking that Alex was turned by Division, it soon is revealed to them that Katya survived because she had an affair with Semak. After they were almost captured by Tasarov they escaped the Udinov estate an returned home to the beach house.<p>

Nikita was comforting Alex inside in the living room with everything that happened as Birkhoff walked through the back door with Jimmy. "Hey did you hear anything from Michael and Stella?"

Nikita took a sip from her glass of water "Yeah, I just got a message that Michael and Stella landed in Amsterdam. Owen stayed behind to track the Guardian but he think he has lost him." She rotated her glass in her hand, stirring the water around with the gravity "Apparently Stella got an order to go there so they decided to take that lead."

Birkhoff nodded and walked to the kitchen to get a Red Bull. Glad to know they were still alive and well.

Jimmy walked over to Alex and jumped onto the sofa next to her, he put his paws onto her legs as he laid down on her, making her smile. "You've come to comfort me, right little furball." She ruffled his head "It always amazes me how animals can sense those things."

Nikita smiled "Yeah, let's hope Michael and Stella are doing better than we did."

* * *

><p>When Stella and Michael arrived in Switzerland she tricked Michael by saying that she had received a message from the black box, which was a lie. She convinced him to listen to her and take them to Amsterdam and let Owen take care of the Guardian in Switzerland. Believing her, he got on the plane with her.<p>

Stepping out of the taxi they arrived in the capital city of the Netherlands and Stella was happy that everything was going by plan. She had already got rid of Nikita and Owen, now she had to deceive Michael and she would be able to rescue Percy.

"There are "coffee shops" everywhere here…" Michael commented as they walked through the streets of Amsterdam. Stella smiled at him. She had been here a couple of times before and she loved it here. The Dutch people were so down to earth and the whole legalization of weed was a pretty good example of that.

"Ok so let's go get ourselves a car and take a look at that drycleaners place I'm supposed to be going, I have to be there in a few hours."

Stella proposed and went to the car rental place across the street.

It was already dark as they waited outside of the drycleaners in the car, supervising everything. It was quiet and suddenly Stella recognized a Division agent stepping into the shop.

"Michael, I think one of the Guardians just entered the shop."

Behind the wheel, Michael took a good look at him and recognized him too as a former Division agent.

"Patrick Miller" Michael confirmed.

She scowled and knew that she had to play it right to keep Michael away from this meeting. "Ok, I'll go inside and attend the meeting. You stay here and don't try to follow me. It is too dangerous and they'll trust me because I'm one of the Guardians."

She gave him a stern look, "I'll keep you updated if I have to stay with them. That way you'll have someone on the inside."

Michael wasn't eager to go along with this plan "Stella I don't know. It is too dangerous, if they find out you're not with them it will be two against one and they'll kill you."

She looked at him determined to change his mind. _Oh Michael. If only you knew the whole story_.

"No it is a good plan. I'm willing to take that chance. Now, I'll contact you as soon as possible, in the meantime stay here. If you see me walking out of the shop with them, go back home and meet up with Nikita. They can't do any damage from here and they will probably go back to Division to try to get him out."

He stayed silent and thought about it. There really weren't a lot of options here, this was the only one which could lead them to find out what the Guardians were up to.

"Okay but be careful. If you think it is too dangerous to contact us don't do it." She nodded and let out a sigh of relief when he agreed to her plan. Before she could step out of the car Michael warned her one more time "I mean it Stella, don't do it, Birkhoff will never be able to deal with it if something happens to you."

She gave him a worried look. _Thanks for reminding me_, She thought bitterly.

But nodded a confirmation and stepped out of the car. She thrusted her hands into the pockets of her black leather jacket and her facial expression changed immediately to extremely serious. Stepping into the shop she looked at the bored shopkeeper. "Ik ben waarschijnlijk mijn kaartje kwijt" (I've seem to misplaced my ticket.) The shopkeeper looked up "Wat kom je ophalen?" (What are you picking up?)  
>"Drie shirts, blauw. Gesteven en geperst, in een doos." (Three shirts, blue. Starched and pressed in a box.)<p>

He looked at her with a penetrating look and grabbed a box from underneath his counter that he gave to her. He silently directed her to walk further by nodding his head to the left.

She followed his directions into the back room and joined up with the two other Guardians. Who were already there. She greeted Patrick and Niles with a nod.

"Stella, how nice seeing you again." Patrick drawled out and she wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

She snorted "I never thought Percy would've made you a Guardian. I'm surprised."

"You know the protocol," she ordered "activate the box."  
>They all pulled out the black box and pressed their thumb into place. A green light showed up at all three the boxes. Stella nodded and pulled out a speaker phone which a few seconds later started ringing. She pressed the accept button and Roan was heard on the other side "Guardians, did everyone make it?"<p>

Stella kept her eyes on her companions "Three Guardians, present." She answered which made Roan continue "Open your packages, visually confirm each other's identity, maintain security profile Alfa. We rendezvous in New York in 24 hours. Stella will be the leader of this mission, she'll update you with other necessary information on the way. Do exactly as you are told by her." And with that he hung up.

All three of them opened their packages and put the phone and credit card into their pockets. Opening their passports, all identity's were correct and they also stored it into their jackets.

"Alright, follow me." She deliberately walked out of the front door, knowing that Michael would spot them. Together they got into Patrick's car and drove off.

In the car she took the backseat and just to be sure she quickly sent a message to Michael saying; 'Going home. Roan is running things. I'll keep you updated.'

Knowing there was a chance she would jeopardize the mission with the information that Roan was working with Percy, she took the chance. She knew she could succeed the mission and make sure her friends would be safe at the same time. If she wanted to keep Alex safe inside Division it was best to let them know that Roan was working with Percy. She clicked her phone off and waited for them to reach Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

Michael was already driving off when he saw the message, he decided to call Nikita since he hadn't heard from her in a while. He was getting worried, plus he had a lot of information to call through.

If Roan was helping Percy than he should warn them immediately, Alex could be in danger if she didn't have the information since they were already back home.

* * *

><p>Amanda was once again mocking Percy. "You're planning an escape which we both know is impossible." She paced in front of his glass cell "There is no way out of here."<p>

"No way that you can see…" he was irritated by her cocky attitude "but you will." He finished.

She started laughing and walked over to the elevator "Right your Stella will come and save you, well I'd like to see her try." She taunted him and left him alone in his cell once again. Annoyed and upset that he didn't let go of any information she could use.

* * *

><p>"Nikki, Alex! Michael is calling!" Birkhoff shouted through the house as he accepted the call on his computer, Nikita and Alex came running towards them and they all gathered around him.<p>

"Michael are you ok?" Nikita asked worried, she hadn't talked to him since they left Switzerland.

She heard that he was driving "Yeah I'm fine, I have a lot of information though. Stella just decided to keep us updated from the inside by joining the other Guardians. She just sent me a message that she is on her way home and that Roan is giving through the orders, that's all she got for now."

Alex frowned "That means Percy is channeling his plans through him, Roan is still inside Division, Amanda doesn't know a thing."

Nikita folded her arms in front of her chest "And you let her go through with that plan, Michael it's far too dangerous for her."

Birkhoff couldn't agree with her more, he was pissed that she had made such a risky decision. Now he was even more worried about her.

"I know but there weren't any other options and she insisted that she could do it. I told her to be extra careful and not to take any risks."

Alex saw the tension in Birkhoff's shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze, it was her way of comforting him.

"Birkhoff can you get me tickets for the next flight home."

The hacker cracked his knuckles "Copy that, you'll be home before you know it." And started typing away.

Michael looked at the road ahead of him. The whole situation between Stella and Birkhoff made him think and he had to let her know what was on his mind "And Nikita, I love you. I'll be home soon."

He quickly hang up after that and Alex and Birkhoff both looked at the Asian woman. A smile was plastered on her face. He had never said that in front of the others.

Birkhoff and miss Udinov were both looking at her with a smile and a twinkle in their eye.

Her gaze shifted from Alex to Birkhoff and she shrugged "What? Birkhoff is the one who had sex with Stella."

Alex's mouth fell open and all her attention was now focused on Birkhoff, who gritted his teeth at Nikita. "Very funny Nikki, changing the subject like that!"

The Russian lady gave him a hard push "Birkhoff you ladies man! I'm gone for two days and you hook up with a girl!"

He pursed his lips and put his glasses back on "I've got work to do." While Alex looked at Nikita with a grin from ear to ear, and Nikita winked back at her, smiling.

* * *

><p>Madeline was sipping her tea as she waited for her son to arrive at the Gates house. A black car pulled up on the driveway and a few moments later he sat down across from her.<p>

"Why the urgent call. What is going on?" he said as he gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek.

She put down her tea cup and licked her lips "We have a situation on our hands. I'm trying to stop them but I need your help."

Sean didn't like were this was going. He hated that his mother was getting him into all of this, but he had no choice, he needed to protect her at all costs.

"A lot of people are going to die." He looked at her. "They're talking about complete liquidation of all personal."

She sipped her tea again "I'm trying to stop them, but I'm outnumbered, I'm afraid it's going to take place soon."

He sighed deeply "I got a lead on Nikita. I'll try to capture her so there is no threat against you anymore."

She looked up hopefully "You're planning to use the tracker you put on Alex?"

He nodded, a bit ashamed with himself "Alex has got nothing to do with this though. Remember that."

Madeline nodded as Sean stood up from his chair "Don't worry mother, I'll take care of this."

She said nothing as he gave her another peck on her cheek and left. She heard the car take off with great speed and hoped that he could fix this situation for her.

* * *

><p>The next day Nikita was staring outside the window of the living room when Alex returned with her glass of juice.<p>

"Thanks" Nikita said as she took a sip.

"So when is Michael coming home?" Alex asked.

"Soon." She answered.

The Russian beauty nodded "You must be really worried about him," Nikita gave her a look " Since you two always worked together for so long now. And this taking down Division mission is getting more dangerous by the second. I was worried too when I heard he went after them with Stella." She tried to explain herself.

Nikita sat down on the sofa "Can't say you aren't right about that. When you do what we do, every time you say goodbye could be the last time. I don't like it when we have to split up."

Alex tilted her head "Birkhoff must be worried too."

Nikita nodded and explained everything that happened between the two and Alex listened closely. Glad that they had some time to talk things trough with each other.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Bader Field, Trenton, New Jersey.<p>

Stella walked over the small airport with her two sidekicks next to her. They had arrived a few hours ago and were ready to infiltrate the Gates house were Oversight was currently meeting. She checked her parachute once again as their pilot was talking nonstop, it annoyed her to beyond. "So guys what is the occasion? Most people jump because of a birthday or because they're married. Why are you three jumping?"

Stella's had a stoic impression on her features "Oh I just want to see the country side." She answered annoyed. But he kept talking on. As they arrived at the small airplane she grabbed his head and twisted his neck with one quick motion. Killing him instantly.

She knew she did a horrible thing killing an innocent man like that. But nothing was going to stop her from her goal. "Leave him here." She ordered and crawled inside the small plane.

The two other Guardians gulped, seeing what she was capable of and stepped inside as well. Looking at her watch she noticed that they were right on schedule.

"Roan will be planting the bomb now," she explained to them before she started the small airplane "he will make it impossible for Amanda to stop operation Clean Sweep from the inside. Remember that, if something happens to me, you'll have to take over the negotiation. Don't be intimated by her words because she'll be bluffing. Percy has got this all figured out."

The both nodded in unison as Stella started up the engine. Nothing will stop her from freeing Percy, she would scarify her own life for him.

* * *

><p>When it was evening Alex opened up the fridge to see if there was anything to eat. When she looked inside she shook her head, apparently the Shadow Walker had done the shopping this time. Because all that she could find was chocolate, potato chips and energy drinks.<p>

"Could you grab me a new one of these?" Birkhoff said as he raised his empty can into the air. He was drinking this stuff non-stop because he was nervous. He hadn't heard a word from Stella for almost a day now. And he was driving himself insane with wondering if she loved him back or not.

Alex nodded and gave him his sugary beverage "I'm going to the store, do you need anything? Like bread, fruit… actual food." she grabbed her bag from the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, beer." He eyed her up and down "I know you got ID."

She rolled her eyes and walked away when suddenly the front door opened and Michael stepped inside. Birkhoff rose from his seat and walked over to Michael "Mikey, glad to see you're ok." And gave him a friendly hug. "Don't worry Birkhoff, when she contacted me yesterday everything was fine. I'm sure she'll do ok."

The Shadow Walker nodded and patted his friend on the back.

Michael walked further inside and saw Alex leaning against the counter "Alex, I heard about Russia. Are you ok…"

She pursed her lips "Ah well you know. There's no place like home right." There was a short silence "You know I've couldn't have gone through it without Nikita." She said and looked up the stairs were Nikita was standing, Michael looked at her too. They both smiled timidly at one another.

"I'm gonna let you guys talk." Alex said as she walked off snapping Birkhoff out of his trance "Yeah I've eh, got that thing to check on to." And cleared his throat while he also walked away.

"Hey" he said softly as he walked to the stairs as she descended down from it. "Hey, glad to see you're ok." She gave him a firm hug.

"Yeah, I eh. Wanted to say that I missed you, and that I love you. A lot." He held her hands in his "I realized that I don't tell you enough. The whole thing between Birkhoff and Stella made me think a lot about us."

She smiled "I love you too Michael, I'm glad your back safely." She gave him a quick peck on the lips "I think we shouldn't be so far apart from each other doing those dangerous missions. It doesn't feel good to me."

He agreed "I feel the same. When you were out there in Russia, I couldn't really focus on the things I had to do because I felt I was too far away from you. Not able to help you quick enough if you needed me."

She gave him another kiss "Right back at ya." And wrapped her arms around him for a second hug.

Meanwhile Sean was setting up his sniper rifle outside on the beach. He had came through the ocean and had Nikita in his sight. She let Michael go and took a step back.

Perfect. He reached for the trigger and was about to shoot when Alex kicked him in the head, he did fire the gun but missed his target as one of the glass windows shattered in the living room.

Sean immediately threw Alex to the ground as she started to hit him in the head. Hard.

He grabbed his jaw, he knew she wasn't a softie but holy hell this girl could hit hard! Using his bodyweight and size to take control over her he pushed her down to the ground. "Alex, stop! Stop!" he silently ordered. But he was cut off by Nikita who came running towards them with a handgun "No. You stop." She firmly ordered and as he looked up at her, Michael smacked him with his gun against the back of his head. Knocking him out. "Let's get him inside." Michael said as Nikita helped Alex up and asked if she was ok.

Being tied up upon a chair, Sean watched as Nikita was blinding the windows, trying to keep themselves hidden from a squat team while Alex was running around turning down the lights. "Where is your backup, where is Division?" she asked but he said nothing.

Michael was going up on the roof to spot any more intruders while Birkhoff was running around grabbing his scanner. "Damnit we just got here! Do you know how much ballistic glass costs!" he shouted frustrated as he ran his scanner over the body of the navy seal "He's clean. No tracker no coms."

He informed and walked away as Nikita held her gun on him. She looked at him and started wondering out loud "If they were here, they would have attacked already."

He stayed silent and the look he gave her was more than enough information for the Asian beauty "There not out there. Are they… No tracker, no coms, no back-up. Nobody knows where you are." She tilted her head slightly "And you don't want us to know that."

She had figured him out within no time "How did you find us?" she wondered and Alex answered that question for her "He must have followed me." She walked over to the Navy Seal. She was disgusted with him, she thought she could trust him. He stayed silent so she grabbed the back of his head by his hair and pulled his head down, hard. She saw him looking at her watch for just a second and she followed his eyes. Raising her hand slowly Birkhoff confirmed what she was thinking "He must have put a tracker in it."

She looked at him, anger surging through her body "No." she whispered she let go of his head, roughly. "My father's watch!" she shouted as she tried taking it off as quick as she could. She looked at Birkhoff "We've got to smash it." She said.

But he stopped her "Hey, hey, hey, no, no it's ok. I can get it out. I can get it out!" he promised as he took the watch from her and ran off to take care of it.

Meanwhile Nikita still held her gun in place "Not even your mother can save you now, I know she is a member of Oversight Sean."

He stayed silent. He hadn't said a word towards them since they captured him.

Alex was getting pissed off with his behavior "Why didn't bring Division with you, why are you alone?!" she demanded to know from him. He looked up at her, for the first time he answered a question with full honesty "I didn't want you to get hurt." He stated.

But Alex didn't believe his lies anymore and smacked him in the face. She was done with his little game.

* * *

><p>Putting the plane on autopilot Stella put her thumbs up and waited for her companions to copy her. When she got the signal from them, she waited until they were above the spot and jumped out of the plane, Patrick and Niles following behind her. Twirling down with her parachute she landed on a little grass area with trees all around them, giving them enough cover to land without being seen a few miles away from the Gates house.<p>

Breathing out into the cold night air she noticed it was snowing slightly. She threw her bag on the grassy floor and grabbed her weapon. While loading it Roan contacted her and she walked up to the other Guardian's "I've just received word from Roan. He advised we approach it from the West."

They both nodded and when she saw they were both ready to go they ran into the wooded area, ready to run a few miles before infiltrating the building.

* * *

><p>"I say we cap him." Birkhoff said to Nikita and Michael as they were hanging in the kitchen, pondering what to do with the navy seal "It's not like we can ever let him go he knows where we are."<p>

Nikita stopped pacing around as she proposed something else "But why kill him when we can use him as our bargaining chip. We've all seen how far he's willing to go for his mother," there was a short silence between them "let's see how far his mother willing to go for him."

But Michael didn't agree with her "But the other members of Oversight don't. They'll never agree."

Alex shook her head as she was looking at the navy seal with sympathy "This isn't Sean's fault," she started and walked over to them "He just wants to protect his mother and he's got the wrong idea about you guys."

Nikita raised her eyebrows "Maybe we should tell him our side of the story. Show him that we are the good guys."

Michael shook his head "You really think you can turn a navy seal."

The Asian beauty raised her head "I think we have got some common ground." She walked away from them "If you want to make peace you don't talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies."

Walking towards him, they all tried to convince Sean to join their side. They explained to him that even if he did managed to kill them, they would still be after Oversight.

Reassuring him that he's protecting them from the wrong people.

Sean didn't trust them completely, but their explanations did make sense to him, and he believed Alex when he looked into her eyes. Slowly he understood that he didn't stand a chance, and that they were willing to help him protect his mother. He was better off if he joined them, though he didn't trust them completely yet. He nodded slowly giving them some feedback.

They walked away with Birkhoff as he started meddling with Sean's phone and let Alex give him some water and talk to him. Maybe she could gain some extra trust.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"Michael asked the hacker as he opened the cell phone.

Birkhoff kept working while he answered "Relax, this place has more jamming than a Santana concert."

Alex and Sean kept talking about what happened. She told her story about her mother in Russia and he tried to convince her that it wasn't her mother's fault. She found out that he didn't tell Amanda about her running off to Russia even though he knew because of the tracker he had put in her phone. Alex looked at him and she smiled, glad to know he didn't rat her out to Amanda.

"Ahoy shipwreck," Birkhoff cut through their little moment "did you know you've got a bug in your phone?"

Sean looked at him with surprised eyes "What? So they were tapping of my phone conversations?"

Birkhoff nodded "Yeah, they heard everything you said through that phone and by they I mean Amanda."

Sean shook his head in distress "My mother told me about Oversight not being happy with Amanda, if she was listening, that would be the end."

Nikita cut him off "Wait, Oversight is not happy with Amanda?" Birkhoff huffed "That's great."

"If you're ok with mass murder that is." Sean commented and Nikita was quickly on top of this "What do mean, explain now."

Sean gladly did "Oversight is thinking about executing operation Clean Sweep. Years ago when Percy created Division, Oversight insisted he built in a failsafe so he could erase the evidence any time." He took in a deep breath "there's a tanker of toxic gas that will tap into the ventilation system when they activate it. 20 minutes after Oversight pulls the trigger that place will be a mass grave."

Nikita ran a hand through her hair and everyone in the room was shocked with this news "We have to stop them, those soldiers don't deserve to die. Only their leaders. Why is Oversight doing this they sound scared?"

Sean chuckled sadly "Black boxes, rogue agents, failure to catch Nikita. Thanks to you Division has become dispensable. The only member trying to stop them is my mother, but she's outnumbered and has no leverage."

Nikita crossed her arms in front of her chest "Then we are about to give her some. Birkhoff, get the number from Sean's phone so we can call Oversight. Tell them that when they trigger operation Clean Sweep. We'll upload the black box."

Sean held his head up "You don't have to make that call. I will, I'm the one they trust."

"Ok. Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Stella spotted the first two guards near some bushes. Silently signaling Patrick with hand gestures, he nodded as she disappeared behind him. Sneaking through the trees, walking on all the spots with grass on them, Stella removed her knife from the holder on her hip as she approached her target from behind. Jumping on his back she slid his throat with one deep cut as Patrick did the same to the other target when he spun around to check out what was happening to his partner. She reclaimed some weapons from the dead bodies on the floor as she contacted with Roan. "Two down on the West-Side. Entering the Gates house now. Killing everyone insight except the members of Oversight."<p>

She ran to the building with Patrick and Niles behind her, and both of the male Guardians could only think of one thing. _How could this petite, innocent looking girl be such a merciless killer?_

* * *

><p>Nikita dialed the number on Sean's phone and put it on speaker as Madeline picked up the phone. "Sean!" She answered sounding panicked "Get over here right away they're activating operation Clean Sweep they've already punched in the codes and their thumb prints, they're not stopping!"<p>

But he had to interrupt her "Listen Nikita got me, but I'm ok. If Oversight activates operation Clean Sweep they'll upload a black box they got. I'm looking right at it."

That caught the senator off guard. When she tried to process all the information and give her son an answer there was loud, rapid gunfire heard in the hallway.

Michael was alerted "What the hell was that!" he exclaimed.

Madeline put the phone in her pocket as she tried to look for cover, but didn't hang up on Sean, so they could still hear everything. Running through the corridors she saw a tiny girl dressed in black slaughtering the guards while walking towards them with a fast pace but with a very calm and collected exterior, so she quickly went back into the meeting room "We have to get out of here now!" she shouted but it was already too late. All of the guards were slaughtered off as Stella barged into the room with a machine gun, threatening the four members of Oversight as Patrick also came through the door and shouted "Get on your knees!"

Sean sat back in his chair and could only mutter one word "Mother?"

They kept listening to what was happening as Nikita shushed Sean. "Be quiet, we need to know what is going on, they don't know about the phone." She covered her hand in front of the transmitter to make sure they wouldn't hear them.

The oldest member of Oversight held up his hands as he looked at the three armed mercenaries, his eyes locked on the smallest of the three, little Stella "Who are we dealing with here?" he asked.

Stella smirked and answered him smugly "I take my orders from the same man I've always have. Even after you've thrown him down a hole."

All heads shot up and looked at each other when they heard that voice. "Stella?!" Michael whispered sharply and immediately looked over at Birkhoff who looked like he was about to hyper ventilate. The Shadow Walker shook his head as he whispered a "No." Shaking his head more violently he started shouting the word out louder and louder as he started panicking "No! NOO! NOOO!" knowing that they had to keep quiet Nikita motioned for Michael to stop him. Michael quickly grabbed Birkhoff from behind and slapped a hand in front of his mouth. "Calm down Birkhoff! Calm down!" he was having trouble keeping the shorter man under control. He'd never seen him so wild like this and this was the first time he felt the true strength of the computer hacker.

Sean observed what was happening and quickly figured out that they had all known this girl for a very long time and that they cared deeply for her. _She must have turned against them somehow._

Nikita swallowed hard and looked over at Alex, they both were too shocked to speak as they found out Stella had lied to all of them all along.

Michael removed his hand when he felt Birkhoff finally calming down a bit, the computer hacker inhaled deeply when his mouth was free again, he needed the oxygen. Still breathing hard, Michael slowly let him go but he kept his arm over his shoulder as he sat down with Birkhoff on the sofa. "How could she Mikey," he sounded broken and everyone in the room felt the pain from his words "how could she do that to us." Alex sat down on the other side and hugged Birkhoff close to her, the pain in his voice was too much.

Nikita cleared her throat "She did what she had to do to complete her mission. There was nothing you could've done Birkhoff, we've all been tricked by her. We all feel betrayed."

She heard more talking over the phone "We have to listen for a little longer to stop her Birkhoff, I promise you, she won't get away with this." Nikita vowed to him.

* * *

><p>Tapping her needle Amanda was ready to put Percy into a coma like state as she approached him victoriously. "I'll try not to damage your brain, too much." She taunted him and lifted the needle up to his neck. But she was stopped by the beeping of her phone. Looking annoyed she walked over to the tray and picked up the phone "Hello?"<p>

Stella was on the other side "Hi Amanda, I want to make this very quick because I know you don't have much time."

Amanda's eyes went wide and she could feel Percy smirk behind her as they both recognized that voice. _Stella._

She listened to Stella and took two steps forward repeating the words that she said "Release Percy or you will eliminate all the members of Oversight." She repeated and turned around to look at Percy as she didn't answer yet "Sounds good to me." But Percy only smirked cockily, his eyes were twinkling "Keep listening." He challenged her.

"Failure to comply will result in the activation of Clean Sweep." Stella said through her intercom to Amanda as she picked up the case and opened it "I've got the suitcase with the trigger in my hands now. If you attempt to evacuate, we will trigger it. Immediately."

Nikita locked eyes with Michael as they heard Stella say all these things. Their hearts were beating fast.

Birkhoff still couldn't believe what he was hearing. There must be some mistake. That night that they shared felt so real to him. He could've sworn she felt the same about him.

Amanda took a step towards Percy in anger "You wouldn't!" she asked him apprehensively, her eyes not blinking once as he showed her who was in charge here "I told you! Division is mine or no ones." He vowed to her vehemently. Amanda couldn't believe what was happening and could only swallow as Percy was calm and collected as always "I told you. _My_ little Stella _always_ finds a way."

Again Amanda could only stare at him as she was not able to speak as Stella finished her threat with one last sentence "There's nothing you can do to stop this, Percy will be giving you the next instructions."

Michael, Nikita, Alex, Birkhoff and Sean all looked at each other helpless, shocked and flabbergasted as they heard their petite and sweet Stella threaten to kill all those people.

There was one thing that seemed odd to Michael though "If Stella turned against us, why did she tell us about Roan? That could've jeopardized her entire mission. Something isn't right here."

Nikita ran a hand through her long locks "I still can't believe it either. There must be something else going on with her."

Alex was the first to speak out loud what they were all thinking "Let's hope we can still turn Stella around, I don't want to fight her..." _and I don't want to kill her._ Alex finished off for herself.

Birkhoff stared at the coffee table in front of him, an expressionless look on his features.

_Oh Stella. What are you doing. Please don't tell me I'll never get to hold you in my arms again. You're perfect for me. Please come back to me and return to your normal self._

_Please…_

_I love you._

Reloading her weapons, Stella waited for Amanda to comply. Soon this will all be over, her mission was complete.

She reloaded her shotgun. _Time to make Percy proud._

* * *

><p>So. Review! They make me smile, good or bad!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

*sigh* it has been a long time. I've had this chapter done for months, I just didn't have the confidence to put it up yet. I decided that I shouldn't be such a pussy and just post it, deal with it, and continue writing! Thanks for all your reviews, you keep me going strong!

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p>"There is a flaw in your plan." Amanda said in a taunting matter as she held the phone to her body.<p>

Percy lifted his head in a bored matter "Really." He didn't really ask.

"If Clean Sweep is activated, everyone dies. Including you."

He kept his eyes locked on her, not blinking once, he showed her he meant business "I can live with that. A captain goes down with his ship."

Amanda gave him a look that could make any recruit tremble with fear "We'll see about that." Turning around her hair twirled around her as she angrily left his cell.

With fast paces she was strolling through the corridors and she arrived at the door that gave her access to the panel to shut down the ventilation system. But what she already feared was true, Percy had already taken care of that. The door was trapped with a bomb.

"Get me an EOD unit here right away!"

Making her way back to Percy she didn't even have to say anything to him as he already know what was going on "It will take Phelps team two hours to dismantle that bomb. You haven't got that long."

She raised her head slightly "I won't give you Division."

He raised an eyebrow in a mocking way "You say that as if you have a choice."

A small smirk reached her pretty features "I'll let you go. In exchange for the trigger. But if you try to come back to Division, I'll have you shot on site."

He grunted. He wasn't happy with that option but he didn't have another choice. Knowing himself he could think of many ways to take over Division from the outside.

"Fine. Let's get this thing on the road."

He didn't have to say that twice because Amanda was already talking to Stella "Your daddy and I have reached a new agreement."

Stella rolled her eyes at the daddy part, like she could get under her skin with using that "There will be no new agreement." Stella calmly replied.

Amanda squinted her eyes "Talk to him yourself." She held the phone next to Percy's ear.

"Hold your position, I'm coming to you Stella."

Stella's eyes lit up, his voice.

She would be able to see him again. The first person that appreciated her. If it wasn't for him she would be dead right now, and she never could have taken revenge upon the people that she loathed. He made her feel like she could take on the entire world, he made it all possible.

Cracking his knuckles Patrick wanted to know what was happening "Stella. What is our next move?"

The smallest killer of the three smirked, her eyes glancing between the members of oversight, making them tremble with fear "Percy has got everything under control, he's coming to say hello."

* * *

><p>Still listening to everything that was happening the five members of team Nikita had to make a decision and they had to make one fast.<p>

Nikita sighed "Percy is coming to them? This could get ugly."

Sean was the first to break through their thoughts "So, this Guardian girl, Stella, you guys know her right?"

Birkhoff scoffed sadly "No apparently we don't…"

Nikita turned her head away from Birkhoff, not ready for the confrontation. She needed to be strong right now. Locking her eyes on something different, she glanced at the front door and saw one sad little pug laying on the doormat, waiting for his master to come home.  
>"Yes we do. She turned against us, but we still know her, there is a Stella somewhere in there."<p>

Michael nodded "I believe that as well. She's maybe loyal to Percy but I don't think she'll hurt us in any way."

Birkhoff just sat there on the sofa. Hunched over and playing with the gold bracelet on his arm absentmindedly. Nikita reached over to him and patted him on his knee which in return made him look up at her "I believe she does love you Birkhoff. She just couldn't say it because she didn't want to hurt you. She knew what she was about to do…"

Birkhoff averted his eyes from the Asian beauty and turned his head away from her while sighing deeply.

"We can get her back. I just know we can, but I'm going to need your help… and the help of that little dog."

The computer hacker closed his eyes and swallowed emotionally.

_Nikki. _He thought to himself. _Always the super optimistic one, always believing in the goodness of people. _

"I-I don't know Nikki. People who love you wouldn't betray you like this, wouldn't lie to us like that."

Birkhoff started. He didn't want to get hurt by that girl again.

"Do whatever you want just, try not to hurt her in the process." He sadly explained to the Asian Beauty and the rest. "As always I'll give you backup from here, you'll need me."

Michael and Nikita looked at each other, the computer hacker was right.

Alex stood up "Ok, Percy doesn't know that we know he is coming to say hello to oversight. We can capture him before he even reaches the building."

Michael nodded "I was thinking the same thing. It's the perfect opportunity for us." He turned his head to Sean "We're going to need directions to Oversight."

"Let me go with you! You need someone who knows the inside of that place, and the perimeter."

All eyes turned to the navy seal who was still trapped on a chair.

For the first time Birkhoff agreed with the big guy "You're not leaving him here with me alone! Take him with you."

Nikita walked over to Sean, intimidating him with her posture and attitude "Why should we trust you, you tried to kill us.."

He took a deep breath through his nose "I'm just trying to protect my mother, still am."

Unphased by her distrust he answered.

A short silence was heard "Fine, but no weapons and you'll listen to everything we say, or else we'll shoot both of your kneecaps." She said while untying him.

Alex crossed her arms in front of her chest "I'll go back to Division, I can give you inside information about what is happening there."

Nikita disagreed "No Alex! You can't it's too dangerous!"

But the young Russian was determined about this "No. I trust you to stop Clean Sweep. You'll need to know what is going on, or else we could get all killed by Amanda, plus she probably doesn't know about Roan."

Nikita looked at Alex and saw that she had made up her mind about this, there was no way she could talk her out of it. The Asian assassin sighed "Fine. Just be safe Alex…."

While everyone was running around Birkhoff walked to the kitchen to get something sugary, he needed it, while Michael followed after him.

Opening the fridge, the hacker took out his favorite energy beverage and opened it. "Birkhoff… are you going to be ok back here…" Michael asked his friend, worried about him. He knew he would flip out if Nikita ever did something to him like that, he was really feeling sorry for his long time friend.

Birkhoff played with the lit of the can, averting his eyes from Michael "I'll be ok Mikey… We've endured worse stuff than this." He chuckled sadly, shortly taking his eyes of his can and back to Michael. "Just, if you can please don't hurt her. I'm not expecting miracles were she'll jump back into my arms but, just make sure she is safe." He looked at him with those big sad eyes and Michael put his hands on each of his shoulders of the shorter man "I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe."

* * *

><p>"Sonya! What's going on!" Amanda barked at the new head of IT, sometimes she wished Birkhoff never switched sides.<p>

"I-It appears that Percy has just taken out all the agents in the car… They're all dead." She explained in her English accent.

If looks could kill everyone in Division would be dead by now "Get the nearest team and sent them to Oversight!"

Sonya gulped "But we don't know where that is."

Amanda clenched her fists "I'll know in a minute, get a team ready!"

Turning around she stomped off, still in a ladylike matter, to her office. It was time to call Ari, and he better knew the location of Oversight or she would test her new brain surgery equipment on him.

* * *

><p>Arriving at the Gate House before Percy, Nikita, Michael and Sean listened to what was happening on the inside with their earpiece, still tapping the phone Madeline was secretly holding. Hiding behind a stone fence the four of them scanned their surroundings. Finding two dead bodies lying in the grass.<p>

Sean was breathing hard, he didn't like this, his mother was in danger "Those are the two perimeter guards." He quickly verified.

Michael checked his M16 "This is defiantly the right place alright." But he quickly shut his mouth as Stella started talking again, they all heard what she had to say over their intercom.

"Take a seat, make yourself comfortable." The short brunette ordered.

Madeline Pierce stopped when they arrived in the new room, in a sneaky way she held her phone in her hand to make sure Sean could hear her if he was still listening "Why are you moving us to the study?" she asked the Guardians.

But Patrick was never the one with a lot of patience "Sit. Down." He ordered and pushed her back onto a chair behind her, making her phone fall out of her hand by the sudden hard push.

Seeing the phone drop onto the floor, Stella raised one of her slender eyebrows and unstrapped her handgun from her thigh. With a stoic expression she shot the phone, splattering it all over the floor in a million pieces.

When Sean heard the line was dead he stood up "I'm going in!" he tried but was held back by Michael who held him firm in place "No you can't! There are three probably chemically enhanced killers in there that can hear a pin drop. If we go in hot, they will hear, and everyone in the house dies."

They heard a car coming towards them "That's our way to rescue your mother Sean, with Percy, Stella will do everything for him." they all sneaked towards it and hid behind the bushes as they watched Percy step out of the Division car in his white overall, some red bloodstains prominently evident on the white fabric from killing the three agents. Before he could even take a step towards the house, Nikita had a gun in his face. "Hi Percy."

Rolling his eyes he leaned against the black car as she held her gun in place "You, here, what are the odds." Percy deadpanned and scanned his surroundings seeing that Michael was giving her backup.

"Tell your Guardians to give up the trigger and Oversight, and maybe you'll make it out of here alive." She threatened him, knowing it wouldn't really scare him but she had to try.

He scoffed "The Guardians have been giving strict instructions, if anything happens to me, everyone at Division will die." He calmly explained turning his eyes away from Nikita and onto someone next to her "Look at that poor smug over there," his eyes lit up, he knew that guy "Sean Pierce," he recognized exited and turned his eyes back to Nikita "now that's a hell of a get."

Percy's eyes were twinkling, he could work with that, he knew Sean would do everything for his mother, he could work this all out in his advantage.

"I can still see your pimply face on the Christmas cards, looks like the navy made a real man out of you." He taunted when Nikita had nothing to say to him "You're here for senator Madeline, mommy." And when he had said that Percy's phone started ringing. Nikita and Michael both straightened their poses and thrusted their guns more towards Percy "Oh no." She said, making sure he would not answer the phone.

It ringed again, Percy grabbed it out of his pocket.

"If I don't answer Stella will wonder what happened to me. And if she thinks anything has gone wrong-"

Before he could finish Nikita snatched the phone out of his hand and answered "I have Percy, give me the trigger and release the hostages, or he dies."

Stella's eyes widened for just a millisecond.

_Nikki! She's ok…_

Prepared for anything she heard that Nikita meant business, well so was she. She had to stay professional, she knew exactly what to do, she needed to speak to Percy so he could give her the next order. "How do I know he is not dead already?"

Taking the phone from her ear Nikita slowly put the phone over to Percy "Tell them our demands." She ordered, but as soon as the phone was near Percy's mouth he quickly said "Kill them all but Madeline." And before he could say anything else Nikita smacked him in the face "Son of a bitch!" she exclaimed.

Stella had a stoic expression on her face as she raised her gun and shot all the members of Oversight in cold blood but kept Madeline Pierce alive, who was scared as hell and grabbed onto her chair for dear life while trembling uncontrollably.

Nikita was pissed she was outsmarted by them, she never should've underestimated Percy's and Stella's coyness.

"I think we both know they had it coming," Percy said in a low voice "and now that Oversight is out of the way, I am willing to negotiate. I'll give you senator Pierce, if you let me go with the trigger."

Nikita pushed him hard against the car but let him go "Sean, cover him." She said and Michael gave him the M16 as they both turned to each other to negotiate.

"We can't let him go with the trigger." Michael started.

"I know, but we can't kill him either they'll trigger Clean Sweep _and_ kill Madeline. We have to let him go and try to find a way to intercept the trigger somehow." She whispered to him, and Michael agreed, there was no other option.

Suddenly Birkhoff interrupted the two of them through their earpiece "Guys, Division agents are coming your way, Alex just told me that Amanda found out about the location somehow. They'll be there any minute now. I don't know how many though."

Nikita and Michael both looked at each other "If we agree, maybe we can intercept the trigger through the chaos with the Division agents."

Michael nodded, it was the only option they got and they had to act quickly before the agents would arrive, and Percy would know.  
>Nikita turned around and raised her voice back to normal volume "Ok Percy, call your Stella. Make sure that Madeline is safe, or we'll shoot you on the spot."<p>

* * *

><p>Getting the call from Percy, Stella grabbed the trigger. "Patrick, Niles guard Madeline Pierce, we're going outside to see Percy and make a trade."<p>

Patrick grabbed Madeline by her arm, roughly, making her cry out "Shut up! Did Roan get the message? Will he able to make it?"

Stella nodded "Yes Roan will arrive any moment now with the car, he'll drive us to safety together with Percy."

Taking in a deep breath, Stella was ready. Walking down the stairs she reached the front door of the building, opening it she walked outside with the trigger in her hand. Silently warning them that if anything happens she was a millisecond away from wiping out Division.

Immediately she spotted Michael, Nikita and her eyes didn't betray her because, yes that was Sean Pierce standing next to Percy.

That explained why Madeline was still alive.  
><em>Percy you clever man.<em>

Slowly walking further onto the grassy perimeter Patrick and Niles were close behind her with Madeline in their hands.

Michael and Nikita looked at Stella for the first time since she betrayed them. She had turned into a merciless killer, making them wonder if they were right to think that the real Stella was still in there.

The small brunette smirked "Time to let Percy go now, or we will kill her and everyone in Division." She shouted from her position.

Leaving them with no choice Nikita let Percy go who walked over to the road were Roan was pulling up with the car. When Percy was safe inside the car with bulletproof glass she silently ordered Patrick and Niles to let go of Madeline. Pushing her towards Sean and the rest.

Keeping her finger on the trigger she watched as Patrick and Niles walked over to the car, guns raised at Michael and Nikita and was about to follow after them when suddenly Niles got shot from behind.

With one hand on the trigger and a gun in the other Stella glanced behind her and saw at least thirty Division agents running their way towards them. She saw that Patrick was behind a tree shooting at them while Percy was shouting at her to hurry up with the trigger. Suddenly a lot of thoughts raced through her mind.

_As much as I care for you Percy. I'm not going to let you blow up Division with all those innocent people in them just to get your revenge. You are safe. That was my mission. _

_And Nikki, Mikey… I can't let you get captured by Division. Let them capture me, I deserve it. _

Her grip tightened on her gun and she placed it back into its holder.

_Please let this work…_

Giving Nikita and Michael one last look she decided to change the plans.

Thinking fast she stopped running towards the getaway car and turned around towards the Division agents and walked towards them, trigger in her hand. Startling everyone. "Stop or I'll blow up Division!" She threatened them "Let Percy go and you'll get me and the trigger!"

"What is she doing?!" Nikita thought out loud, as she hid behind a stone wall with Michael while Sean made sure his mother was safe. Seeing that Stella's action had stopped every Division agent in their tracks. Michael reloaded his gun "Saving our ass, and Percy's ass. There too many Division agents for us to handle we have to go!"

Nikita looked at him confused in what to do. A second ago she was their enemy, now she's helping them escape by sacrificing herself.

Michael grabbed her arm "We have no choice! She made her decision, we'll figure this out when we get home, Alex is still inside Division remember! Plus we have to get Madeline to safety."

She heard that the Division agents had permission to capture Stella alive with the trigger, there was no time. They had to go.

Nodding she motioned for Sean to go first with Madeline, she and Michael covering their backs while they headed out for the car.

Glancing behind her one last time, she saw Percy driving away in his black truck, together with Roan and Patrick, leaving Stella behind. Who was still standing in the middle of the field with thirty agents slowly approaching her. She was trapped like a rat and there was no way out.

Stepping on the gas, Michael drove away from the scene as quick as he could, while he heard Birkhoff shouting in his earpiece "Michael! What is happening? Michael, what did she do! What kind of decision?!"

Making a sharp turn Michael helplessly looked at Nikita, hoping she could answer for him.  
>"Michael!" Birkhoff started again "Michael you promised! You promised she wouldn't get hurt!"<br>Immediately understanding him she did "Birkhoff, listen to me. Amanda has captured Stella." There was a loud Whaaat!? On the other end of the line but she continued, ignoring him "it was her own choice we didn't expect her to do such a thing. The good news is that Division is safe now and so is Madeline." She said sternly "We will find a way to get her out of Amanda's claws, we still have Alex on the inside."

She thought this would calm him down, but Birkhoff's emotions were going up and down like a rollercoaster "How could you let her do such a thing! You could have saved her!"

That was the wrong thing to say to Nikita, the one that was always trying to rescue everyone "You weren't in the field! What did you want me to do, shoot her dead so Division couldn't capture her? It was thirty against four in an open field! She betrayed us Birkhoff, not the other way around!"

Still listening, Michael and Sean heard Birkhoff log off, breaking off the contact between them.

The rest of the ride went awfully quiet.

* * *

><p>Making sure Madeline and Sean were safe, Michael dropped them off at a spot where they in safe range of pick up, and they were still able to drive off unseen.<p>

Noticing her quietness Michael put one hand on her thigh, silently comforting her while he was driving. He heard her sigh "I don't understand. I really thought she turned into this cold hearted assassin that was under complete control of Percy. She could've run, she could've easily made it to the car with Percy and the rest… but she didn't. She saved Division, she saved Percy and she saved us…"

Michael rubbed her thigh in a soothing matter while he kept his eyes on the road "I don't think she wanted to hurt us. She just wanted to rescue Percy. That was her goal and she did accomplish that, although it hadn't been easy for her." He tried to make sense.

He felt Nikita's hand caressing his "She just wanted to keep her loved ones safe. Even if that is Percy we are talking about." She mused out loud and then she chuckled "But we do know that we can turn that around. Look at the two of us. First we worked together, then we fought against each other, now we work together again. Same thing goes for Alex, same thing goes for Birkhoff. I think there is still hope for us, for Stella, for the team."

Michael smirked his trademark smirk and squeezed her hand gently "If we can make a navy seal join our team, we can make Stella join our team once again."

Feeling relieved by his words Nikita tilted their hands up and kissed the back of Michael's hand "Besides, she'll never let Jimmy or Birkhoff alone, she loves those puppies far too much."

* * *

><p>Pain. That was the only feeling Stella was able to identify at the moment. The rest was a blur.<p>

She felt large hands take off most of her clothes, except for her tank top and pants, then she was lifted from the ground and thrown into one of the many Division cell's.

Groaning softly she opened her eyes, bright lights were making her eyes squint as she slowly tried to get up on her knees.

Concrete. That was all she recognized_. Still the same old crappy interior design._

The only explanation she could come up with why she wasn't A. dead already, or B. being tortured to death, was that Amanda had other things to do right now.

She probably was trying to trace Percy, or Nikita.  
>Giving Stella some few extra hours to live, not that she wanted it. She had killed quite a few innocent people, like every Division agent, but it always hit her hard afterward. Like the pilot, she probably killed a father, a brother, a son, a friend, a husband. It's almost like you don't just kill one person, you kill multiple.<p>

She couldn't help it though, if a loved one was in trouble, she would do anything to safe them. Even killing her way through, regarding it afterward.

Failing to get up she rolled over onto her sore back and almost wanted to laugh, because the pain was absurd, even for her, she didn't know if she had to laugh or cry.

She inhaled the air deeply into her longs. But it will all be over soon and she wouldn't mind. She had rescued Percy and she felt like she had finally paid back her debt to him. He was safe and that was all what mattered, he would do fine on his own without her. Besides, she had betrayed Nikki, Mikey, Alex and Birkhoff. She chuckled sadly hurting her ribs in the progress, she had made everyone her enemy, now that is quite of an accomplishment itself.  
>Though it wouldn't matter, she was doomed anyway. Now it was waiting for Amanda to torture her to death, because she wasn't going to give any information to that bitch, even if it meant the worst pain in her life. Stella knew that woman was evil from the moment she set foot in Division.<p>

_Oh Seymour. I'm going to miss you the most of all. Take good care of Jimmy for me._

She chuckled but winced in pain when she thought about one last thing that could save her… She took the black boxes from Niles, Patrick and herself and hid them somewhere before they went to the airport.

And she was the only one who knew where they were… That could be the only thing that would keep her safe from death.

But not from torture by Amanda…

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading, all feedback is very welcome.<p> 


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